Because I don’t pay that much attention to the Scandinavian royal families, I really didn’t know much about Ari Behn. He was married to Princess Martha of Norway, and they divorced in 2016. Princess Martha is currently with a shaman who is definitely not some sort of spiritual con artist to the stars. But Ari Behn was with Princess Martha for years, and they had three daughters together. Ari passed away on Christmas Day. This is so sad and awful.
Ari Behn, an author who married into Norway’s royal family and accused Kevin Spacey of groping him at a concert, died by suicide on Christmas Day. He was 47.
“It’s with great sorrow in our hearts that we, those closest to Ari Behn, must report that he took his own life today. We ask for respect for our private lives in the time to come,” Geir Håkonsund, Behn’s manager, said in a statement to PEOPLE. “The family has asked me to convey that they are immensely grateful for the overwhelming support and all the condolences they have received during this tough time. It’s really good to see that Ari has meant so much to so many people.”
Behn was married to Princess Martha Louise of Norway, 48, for 14 years before officially divorcing in 2016. They share three daughters: Maud Angelica, 16, Leah Isadora, 14, and Emma Tallulah, 11. In a statement issued Wednesday, Princess Martha Louise’s parents, King Harald and Queen Sonja, said Behn was “an important part of our family for many years, and we carry warm, fond memories of him,” according to The Independent. “We are grateful that we got to know him. We grieve that our grandchildren have now lost their beloved father — and have deep compassion for his parents and siblings, who have now lost their beloved son and brother,” the statement said.
I don’t even want to talk about the Kevin Spacey aspect of this, so I’ll just say that if you want more info on what Ari Behn said about being assaulted by Spacey, go here. It really bothers me that “Spacey accuser” is showing up in all of the articles about Behn’s passing because he was a lot more than that. I sort of understand why people are making the connection though – it’s because Spacey released a bonkers, threatening video online on Christmas Day, around the same time as Behn’s suicide. As for everything else… God, I feel so sorry for those three daughters. Those poor girls. And Martha is probably devastated too.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.
Those girls. Christmas is going to be a ugly memory for them.
Festivities are though for people who are struggling .
Best wishes for his daughters.
On Christmas day. What a sad thing. Poor family. May he rest in peace.
I wholeheartedly agree that he was much more than his Spacey connection. My thoughts are with his loved ones.
I think the Spacey angle keeps coming up because this is the third Spacey accuser to die. This and the crazy vid (haven’t seen it yet) make it hard to ignore.
And the video was posted on the same day! Spacey is nutso and obviously very narcissistic.
I hadn’t seen those videos until today. The more recent one definitely reads as a murder confession. It’s too disturbing.
Demons love to mock.
“the third accuser to die”
THE THIRD ACCUSER TO DIE.
FYI, two of Bryan Singer’s accusers have died since 2017. Spacey & Singer are the oldest & best of friends. Both have been multiple times to Epstein’s ‘island’ – tho Singer was smarter & went by boat = no fight logging.
screw anyone & everyone who doesn’t think Spacey’s victims are being offed one by one. It’s BS to ‘separate’ them from the Spacey tally.
Spacey knows SO much about people and their ‘secrets’ – two of which, if the world knew, would actually change film history forever…one person in particular if they were exposed…it would be a total shocker. He’s a titan. And yes, everyone knows who he is.
*I* don’t know…care to fill in the cryptics?
I feel for this man and for those he left behind. I know they are struggling and I wish them peace and comfort.
Isn’t this the second Spacey accuser to die recently? That is…bizarre.
its the third death of a spacey accuser. too much of a coincidence for me.
Yes! 3!! That’s extremely odd to me. So sad for Ari and his family. It’s just really tragic.
Wow. I saw that Spacey had released a crazy video but didn’t watch it because f-ck that guy. I think I’d seen the news about the suicide yesterday and it was phrased as “Spacey accuser commits suicide “ or something along those lines and I immediately was like “well that’s suspicious”
I didn’t realize it was an ex-Royal because I couldn’t bring myself to read the articles. I feel genuinely sorry for this man. I can’t imagine the kind of pain he was in to do this, and I know there will be a lot of people saying that he didn’t think of his kids etc etc. but it just isn’t that simple. He probably thought it was genuinely the only option he had and that his kids would be better off. And it’s horrible for the family, I get that. But let’s not swipe aside the kind of pain he went through as if he did this with the purpose of hurting his family. His kids will be missing a piece of their life and someone they loved. But they will be okay eventually, and Christmas isn’t the be all and end all of life. Unfortunately this seems like another case of a victim taking what they felt to be the only option left available to them, and I think the poor guy deserves some genuine sympathy for the failures of the system and for the uncontrollable misery he went through.
You are a kind person. Victims of suicide deserve our sympathy.
I usually don’t read or comment that much on royals, because I’m just not that interested. Ari was no exception to that rule. But that made it all the more surprising how much of a gut-punch this was. But Kaiser is right. He was so much more than a Spacey accuser. He always seemed like an attentive and good father. And he was quite a good writer. He was open about his struggles with alcoholism and mental health issues, and his family continued that openness when they disclosed that he had commited suicide. That in turn seems to have helped in a way, because the helplines have reported an increase of people calling them. I just hope that his daughters are taken good care of.
People are leaving memorials for him around the palace steps for him. He was a talented artist and seemed like a good fit with Martha Louise. If anything, he kept her more grounded which she needed.
I was already worried for the girls with their mother’s crazy new boyfriend, and now this. ML needs to wise up and jettison that user.
It’s actually Princess Martha Louise. She uses both names personally and professionally
Three accusers dead under weird circumstances.
Right? I cant help but think hes involved, as conspiracy theory crazy as it sounds i actually dont think its crazy given the accusations and his videos i guess hes capable of a lot. i didnt think spacey was this powerful or sick but it wouldn’t surprise me
I think it’s really important not to brush the Spacey thing under the rug. All that does is let Spacey off the hook. This is also not the first Spacey accuser to have died young.
I don’t want to risk ranting, so I will leave it at that.
I agree. Spacey is a decrepit sex criminal. The fact that he actually thinks he’s going to have a comeback (evidenced by his weird video) shows how society has filled these men with the idea they can get away with these terrible things.
Hopefully the weird video will help ensure he doesn’t get a comeback.
Yeah, these creeps think they can just take what they want. Other people don’t matter to them. It’s scary.
I’m norwegian. I had no idea about the spacey stuff at all. And although I dont know Ari personally I doubt it had anything to do with his depression.
Its very strange that he is gone. He was a very… soft soul, I guess. Artsy and creative, often talking in the way only cooky artists can talk- which I appreciate, being a cooky artist myself. RIP.
What is a cooky artist?
I think Ye means ‘kooky’! And, he does seem like he was a gentle soul with some mental health issues. What a terrible loss for his family.
What all around sadness. I’m three generations removed from a suicide and it still has effects that ripple down.
And if it’s not a suicide but a murder? That changes some of the hurt but just puts it in a different box for the family. Terrible.
He seems to have been a troubled soul, right from his first collection of stories which seem dark.
However, abuse does take a toll on mental health, and it wouldn’t be a surprise for it to be a contributing factor. Suspicious circumstance, not necessarily, but a vulnerable people can go into spiralling depression as a result
Just remember that abusers have an amazing ability to find and exploit those who are vulnerable.
For this reason and others, abuse is so much worse than most people can imagine.
This is a VERY good point. Abusers can groom victims really quickly – they can gain trust, test limits and see who will be compliant, and then abuse them. Sometimes this happens over months or year, but someone like Spacey could probably do it all in hours. He probably had a well-honed sense of who around him was most vulnerable. The psychological and emotional impact this leaves the victim with can be enormous.
Heartbreaking circumstances. I feel for him and his daughters, this must be devastating for his parents too. Being driven to the edge, such pain is overwhelming and life altering. I feel so sorry for him that in the face of such pain he couldn’t muster the will to fight for life and love, and for the people that love him.
What a horrible thing to do to your children on Christmas Day.
Not a very nice to do to himself either. I used to be very judgmental of parents of children who killed themselves. But these days I just assume that their pain must’ve been greater than there love for their children, which isn’t to diminish their love of their children but rather to highlight how overwhelming their pain must’ve been.
When a parent commits suicide it isn’t because their pain is was greater than their love for their children- they are ending their life BECAUSE of their love for their children.
They are in so much pain they genuinely believe they are helping their children by killing themselves – that they are dragging their children and loved ones down.
They believe that after the initial shock and grief, everyone’s lives will be improved by their absence.
George Michael’s sister also, which is just awful. Christmas is rough for many people; bringing up and amplifying all sorts of family-related stress, bad memories, pain, and grief.
I thought the royal family’s statement was well worded and compassionate. What an enormously sad thing.