Michael Schumacher’s wife Corinna has offered a rare insight into her life since her husband’s horrific skiing accident nearly 13 years ago in a new Netflix documentary.
The 105-minute film, Schumacher ’94: The Birth of a Legend, chronicles the Formula One icon’s breakthrough 1994 season, when he won the first of his seven World Championships with Benetton.
Viewers are also given a glimpse into Corinna’s life, from her romance with Schumacher in the early 1990s to a brief glimpse of the private battle she has faced since his skiing accident on December 29, 2013.
Corinna remains Michael’s primary carer, supported by a team of nurses and therapists who provide round-the-clock care, and has remained fiercely protective of her husband’s privacy throughout his long recovery.
Her appearance in this latest documentary is one of the few occasions she has spoken publicly since the crash, following her involvement in the 2021 Netflix documentary Schumacher.
Recalling the early days of their relationship, Corinna reveals in Schumacher ’94: The Birth of a Legend that Paula Abdul’s hit song Rush Rush held a special place in their hearts.
Corinna Schumacher says Paula Abdul’s ‘Rush Rush’ in the car and ‘I cry to myself’ (above – pictured together three years before Michael’s accident at the GQ Men of the Year ceremony)
‘That was our song back then,’ she says. ‘When I hear it today and I’m in the car, I cry to myself.’
She spoke about the beginning of their relationship, and how her mother disapproved: ‘My mother was completely against it. Michael was always at the go-kart track and was always pushing others out.
‘My mother always said: “Look at Schumacher! They have a go-kart track at home, they throw out anyone who does anything wrong, and now he’s throwing people out!” My mother would say: “Schumacher, Schumacher.”‘
She also revealed Michael’s amusement at unexpected clothing in his fan mail.
‘He received a lot of it,’ she says. ‘Also from a young girl who always sent underwear along with his mail. Her name was Jutta. At some point, “Come on, Jutta,” became his standard phrase.’
Not a word is being said about the 57-year-old German’s condition today in the documentary, but Corinna appears clearly moved when she recalls events around 1994.
‘My heart beats for him when he wins. And when he loses. My heart is always there,’ she says. ‘When you’re with someone you look forward to seeing every day, it’s wonderful.’
The Daily Mail revealed earlier this year that Schumacher is no longer bedridden, with sources close to him saying he is now sitting up in a wheelchair and can be pushed around his £30million estate in Majorca and his £50million residence at Gland, on the shores of Lake Geneva.
Schumacher’s privacy is seen as paramount. Ever since the brain damage he sustained after crashing into rocks near the French Alps resort of Meribel, he has been kept out of the public eye.
Attempts by some former staff members to sell images of him in his distressed state resulted in their convictions last year. And reports that he would attend his daughter Gina’s wedding in 2024 proved unfounded.
Attempts by some former staff members to sell images of Michael in his distressed state resulted in their convictions last year
One rumour speculated that the man dubbed the first billionaire sportsman was suffering from pseudocoma, or locked-in syndrome, a condition in which patients are conscious and fully aware but unable to respond other than by blinking. However, several sources have confirmed that even this bleak state is inaccurate.
‘The feeling is he understands some of the things going on around him, but probably not all of them,’ said one.
In the 2021 documentary Schumacher, Corinna said: ‘Michael is here. Different, but he’s here, and that gives us strength, I find,’ she said. ‘He still shows me how strong he is every day.
‘We live together at home. We do therapy. We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he’s comfortable. And to simply make him feel our family, our bond.
‘And no matter what, I will do everything I can. We all will. We’re trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does. And we are getting on with our lives.
‘”Private is private”, as he always said. It’s very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible. Michael always protected us, and now we are protecting Michael.’
