The ‘explosive’ love life of Argentinian president Javier Milei has imploded after he blamed work pressures for a split from his ‘lioness’ celebrity girlfriend.
The libertarian populist was last seen together with Fatima Florez, 43, in Miami on Wednesday as riots broke out on the streets of Buenos Aires in protest at public spending cuts in a country where 40 percent live in poverty.
They boasted of their ‘exotic’ relationship after going public in July last year with Milei, 53, insisting ‘I am very in love’ with the Argentinian actress and comedian.
But he said their conflicting schedules had placed too much strain on the couple as he announced the end of their relationship on Saturday.
‘As a result of the overwhelming professional success that Fatima, of whom I am extremely proud, is experiencing, she has received numerous job offers to work both in the United States and in Europe,’ he wrote on social media.
Argentinian president Javier Milei, 53, met girlfriend Fatima Florez, 43, when they appeared together on a popular talk show in December 2022
The 53-year-old president joined Florez, wearing a shiny gold leotard with matching gloves, up on stage after the performance of her musical ‘Fatima 100%’ in December
Milei, who reportedly paid for the ticket to the event out of his own pocket, made an impromptu speech on stage before engaging in a lengthy kiss with Florez
‘This, added to the complex task that I am facing today and that the Argentines have entrusted me with, has led us to live apart, making it impossible for us to have the relationship as a couple that we would like to have, despite how much we love each other.
‘That is why we decided to end our relationship and maintain a bond of friendship given how much we feel for each other and how much we love, respect and admire each other.’
Florez has yet to respond publicly to the end of the relationship which was sparked when they appeared together on a popular talk show in December 2022, two months before she separated from her then-husband of 22 years.
During the interview, Fatima playfully told the politician: ‘You are too alone for your important role.’
In October, the pair returned to the chat show to confirm that they were dating.
Florez explained: ‘We started talking on Instagram and we started seeing each other much later.
‘It came very naturally. It was very little by little. I was in Uruguay, working, and we started writing to each other.’
Elsewhere in the interview, Argentina’s new president said: ‘I am very in love’. The pair described their love as ‘exotic’.
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Milei, who often dresses up as his superhero alter-ego ‘General AnCap’ which is short for anarcho-capitalist (pictured), made his name furiously denouncing the ‘parasitic political caste’ on television programs
Milei, right, who recently revealed Jewish ancestry of his own was in Miami as a guest of the city’s Chabad Lubavitch Jewish community
The couple were pictured leaving the event together just three days before their split
Fatima then went on to explain how she officially separated from her husband on her birthday in February – likening it to the historic Battle of San Lorenzo in 1813.
Florez, who is one of her country’s most popular celebrities, boasts 1.4 million followers on Instagram, said in January that she was ‘hooked on Javier’.
‘Even when we are far apart, we are very close,’ she said
‘And when we are close, we are close, we are explosive, explosive, you know what I mean?’
The couple shared a very raunchy public kiss in December when he joined her on stage at the premiere of her comedy musical ‘Fatima 100 percent, featuring imitations of Milei, Cristina Kirchner, Taylor Swift, Tina Turner, Liza Minelli, Mirtha Legrand, Susana Giménez and Carmen Barbieri, among others.
Sharing a photo of herself backstage, Fatima – who was wearing a shaggy brown wig and bright blue contacts – wrote: ‘I AM YOUR LIONESS.’
But Milei has been dogged by civil unrest since taking office in December with inflation running at 290 percent, and a 50 per cent devaluation in the Argentinian peso.
Protesters hurled rocks at police who responded with water canon and teargas as riots broke out in the center of the Argentine capital last week.
Milei has eliminated energy and transportation subsidies, paused public projects, and stopped making payments to provincial governments.
On April 3 workers were notified that they were being laid off from their jobs at multiple state agencies – including the ministries for the economy, energy and social security.
Milei has pledged to reduce the number of ministries from 24 to eight, and has called for the elimination or subsuming of the ministries of education, social development, women, genders and diversity, and health.
One infamous video showed him tearing cards with the names of several ministries from a whiteboard, and throwing them away, saying: ‘The state is not the solution, it is the problem.’
He has taken bizarre stances on a range of issues, including the organ trade. The president said he was in favor of allowing the sale of organs between private parties, claiming: ‘it’s just another market.’
Members of social organizations clash with the police during a demonstration against the recent economic measures introduced by the government of President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. At least two police officers and a media outlet worker were injured and 11 people were arrested
A demonstrator throws a stone at a demonstration over government job cuts in Buenos Aires
Demonstrators clashed with police in riot gear Wednesday in the Argentine capital city, Buenos Aires
Protesters marched down 9th of July Avenue, the main avenue in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, on Wednesday to denounced cuts to public sector jobs and improvement to soup kitchens
‘If women can have control over their bodies, why not everybody else,’ he also said.
He also says he has no issue with sex work being legal, previously saying: ‘I don’t see anything wrong with paying for sex. It’s a free transaction.’
Earlier this month he reiterated Argentina’s ‘unwavering claim’ to the Falkland Islands as he attended a ceremony to mark the 42nd anniversary of his country’s unsuccessful invasion of the United Kingdom’s South Atlantic territory.
He promised to lay out a diplomatic ‘roadmap’ towards the UK handing over sovereignty and slammed his predecessors for ‘mere words in international forums with no impact on reality’.