‘I was a minor’: Indonesian model says she was forced to marry Malaysian prince; asks media to drop ‘ex-wife’ tag
Indonesian-American model, Manohara Odelia, has accused the Malaysian royal family of coercing her into marrying Prince Tengku Fakhry.In a social media post on Instagram, Odelia said her relationship with the prince was neither romantic nor consensual. The 33-year-old model claimed the relationship was not legal, as she was a minor at the time.“What occurred during my teenage years was not a romantic relationship, not a consensual relationship, and not a legal marriage. There was never a relationship I wanted, agreed to, or entered into voluntarily. At the time, I was a minor and was in a situation of coercion and lack of freedom, meaning I did not have a real choice or the capacity to give consent,” she wrote. “Using the term ‘mantan istri’ implies a lawful, voluntary, adult relationship and marriage. That implication is false. It reframes a coercive situation as a legitimate relationship and distorts the reality of what occurred. I ask Indonesian media, editors, writers, and digital platforms (including Google and Wikipedia) to stop using this label when referring to me. Continuing to introduce articles with this mischaracterisation is not only inaccurate, it is unethical journalism,” she added.Odelia also rejected the media’s use of the term “ex-wife” to describe her relationship with the Malaysian prince. She urged digital media platforms to use more accurate and ethical language that reflects the reality of child marriage and abuse rather than sanitising it.Odelia was married in 2008 to Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra, the son of the Sultan of Malaysia’s Kelantan state.In recent interviews, Odelia said she faced sexual violence and harassment during the marriage. She also said she had no freedom of movement, had limited contact with her parents, and lived under constant surveillance within the palace.A year later, in 2009, she fled a hotel in Singapore during a royal trip and returned to Indonesia with the help of her mother, local authorities, and the US embassy.
