Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letiziapretend to be loving husband and wife in public — but the contentious couple is secretly living separate lives as her wandering eye has torpedoed their 20-year marriage, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Royal watcher Jaime Peñafiel, 91, says the European monarch, 56, and his glam gal, 51, are simply "keeping up appearances by performing palace duties as a duo.
"I don't think they even live under the same roof," he scoffed. "Felipe is a good person. He's putting on a brave front, and Letizia has done him a lot of harm."
Peñafiel's explosive 2023 biography Letizia & I charges the former TV journalist had a longtime fling with her ontime brother-in-law. The scandalous book relies on the breathless confessions of Jaime del Burgo, 53, who claims his affair with Letizia endured even after she got hitched to Felipe!
Now, dirt-dishing stories in Peñafiel's recently released Letizia's Silences further suggest the cougar queen may have cuckolded her kick!
The publication delved into rumors Letizia left her family's lavish summer digs in Mallorca during a "marital crisis" to hook up with another guy. Tipsters say the bold beauty also attempted to fly incognito from Madrid to New York with a hunky travel companion — but was recognized by a famous painter.
Spain's monarchy is no stranger to scandal.
Felipe assumed the throne in 2014 with Letizia by his side after his father, King Juan Carlos, stepped down amid corruption investigations. The disgraced 86-year-old lives in self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates with occasional visits to his homeland, while his wife, Sofía, has stayed put in Spain.
Despite the current chatter, Peñafiel believes Felipe will also never split from his partner.
"I don't think there will be a divorce, but there could be an agreement like the one Juan Carlos and Sofía established in which each one leads their own life," the gabber added.
Meanwhile, del Burgo — who was married to Letizia's younger sibling Telma Ortiz from 2014-2016 — allegedly plans to release a TV film and documentary about his sensational story. The U.K.-based businessman has alleged he and Letizia were in love — and even discussed running off to their U.S. to marry and start their own family.
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However, some political critics charge the tawdry tales about Letizia are lies designed to smear the ruling royals — and put Juan Carlos back in the public's good graces, so he can make a glorious return home.