Ari Behn was a Norwegian author, playwright, and painter/sculptor. As an author, he has written four novels, two short story collections, one play, and became a part of other creative and artistic endeavors such as the design of a china set named “Peacock”. Till 1996, he went by the name Mikael Bjørshol. Further, he also gained notice for his successful literary, a short story collection Trist som faen in 1999 that sold about 100,000 copies.
Moreover, he worked as a visual artist from the year 2013 until his death. Behn passed away on 25 December 2019 at his home in Lommedalen. His spokesperson gave a statement from citing he died by suicide. Additionally, he had married Princess Märtha Louise, the elder child of King Harald V. from 2002 to 2017. Let us scroll over to know more information on his personal life and relationships.
Caption: Ari Behn, the late visual artist, and writer.
Source: Deadline
The artist was on 30 September 1972 as Ari Mikael Bjørshol in Århus, Denmark. He is the son of father Olav Bjørshol and Mother Marianne Rafaela Solberg. His father worked as a technical writer and photographer whereas his mother, a teacher. His parents divorced and remarried their friends Jan Pehle and Tone Bjerke who were a couple previously. He grew up along with his two younger siblings, Anja Sabrina and Espen.
Further, he changed his surname Bjørshol to Behn taking his maternal grandmother’s maiden name. Also, his younger siblings took the surname. In his initial career beginning days, he became a founding member of Den Nye Vinen in 1993 in Oslo along with Bertrand Bisigye, Henning Braathen, and Per Heimly. Besides, he had written several other books including his successful first collection titled Trist som faen.
He worked as a freelance writer for several newspapers and magazines, as well as TV documentaries too. He also appeared in the comedy films 2004 Team Antonsen and 2006 Long Flat Balls. Until his death, he was active as a painter and had achieved commercial success by Norwegian standards.
As mentioned earlier, he married Princess Martha Louise of Norway, daughter of King Harald V and Queen Sonja. They wedded on 24 May 2002 in Trondheim, Norway. The couple together welcomed three daughters: Maud Angelica(b. 2003), Leah Isadora(b.2005), and Emma Tallulah(b.2008). His ex-wife owns her own therapy center Astarte Education/Soulspring, commonly known in Norway as the “angel school”. The center provided training in communication with angels and communication with the dead.
However, their relationship didn’t long last, and started divorce proceedings on 5 August 2016. After a long wait, their divorce finalized in 2017. After that, he moved on and began dating lawyer Ebba Rysst Heilmann. He had kept his relationship with the lawyer, a low profile, and kept themselves away from the public. Additionally, he often portrayed as a pretentious poseur by the Norwegian media.
Caption: Ari Behn and ex-wife Princess Martha Louise
Source: BBC
He died by suicide on 25 December 2019 at his home in Lommedalen. Before his death, he reported battling with alcoholism and mental health problems. Also in an interview in 2009, he told that he was chronically depressed and feeling lonely.
Furthermore, in 2017, he told that the actor Kevin Spacey groped his genitals in 2007. The incident happened at a nightclub during the afterparty for the Nobel Peace Prize concert.
He had maintained a hefty amount of fortune from his career as an author and artist. Therefore, he has a net worth estimated at around $10 million. Further, he lived in a 7.9 million worth mansion in Lommedalen that built-in 230 square meters having four bedrooms.
He was active over different social media platforms with unverified accounts, not deactivated yet. He has a Facebook account under his name with over 21.4k followers. On Twitter, he goes by the handle @aribehn with more than 1.2k followers. He has an Instagram account @ari.behn with 31.6k followers.
He had a fit and healthy body type that stands to a height of 5 feet 8 inches or 1.76 meters. His body weighs around 76 kg with unknown body measurements of waist, chest, or hips respectively. He had silver-white hair color and brown eyes color.
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