Who is Jonas Bergström some of you might ask. The short answer is Jonas Bergström is Princess Madeleine’s ex-fiancé but there is so much more to say.
The story of Jonas Bergström and Princess Madeleine of Sweden
Jonas and Madeleine met through mutual friends Nathalie Rosta and Dag Werner back in 2002. At first, Jonas was hesitant to say yes to going on a date with a princess but he eventually gave in. They dated for several years and Jonas proposed to Madeleine on the island of Capri early June 2009 and the engagement was made official on August 11th 2009. Originally the wedding was supposed to take place in late 2010 and it was speculated that November was the month they would get married. However, things didn’t quite go as planned.
Madeleine and Jonas’ relationship crisis can be traced back to early 2009 when Jonas went with friends on an annual ski trip to Åre in Sweden. He checked in at the hotel under the alias “Jacob Bernström” and on this trip he met a Norwegian girl who he allegedly was intimate with behind Madeleines back. Soon after, when media found out Jonas had checked in under an alias it became clear he was hiding something. Rumors that Jonas was unfaithful started to spread and news of the couples relationship crisis became more frequent. In early 2010 things really took a turn for the worse. They hadn’t been seen together for months and when Queen Silvia, Madeleine’s mother was interviewed on April 13th 2010 she told the reporter that she had heard of the rumors and told him “everything is fine with Madeleine and everything is OK between Madeleine and Jonas.” But was it?
Only a week after Queen Silvia had made her statement that everything was “fine” Norwegian gossip magazine Se & Hor published a tell-all interview with a Norwegian girl, Tora Uppstrom Berg. Tora turned out to be the girl from Åre. In the interview Tora claimed she and Jonas had been intimate in Åre. Tora did not recognize Jonas at first as he had introduced himself as Jacob the whole time. Later, Tora realized who “Jacob” really was and tried to get a hold of him without any result. That is when she decided to go public with the story.
Just days before Se & Hor published the Tora Uppstrom Berg tell-all article, it was reported that Madeleine had thrown Jonas out of her appartment at the Palace. Some speculate that she already knew about the affair with the Norwegian blondie.
Jonas falls in love with Princess Madeleine’s childhood friend
Madeleine’s childhood friend, Stephanie af Klercker was a great support to Madeleine after the breakup. Stephanie and her at-the-time-boyfriend, Ludvig Blomqvist were good friends of Madeleine and Jonas and used to hang out a lot and go on double dates together.
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Picture above, from right to left: Nathalie Werner, Malin Andrén, Stephanie Bergström (née af Klercker)
Stephanie was a great support to Madeleine after the engagement with Jonas was broken off. She had recently broken up with Ludvig at the time so the two could relate.
Shortly after the breakup Madeleine fled the country. She moved to New York to work for Childhood, an organization co-founded by Queen Silvia, and also to get away from Jonas and the chaos their breakup had caused in her hometown, Stockholm.
Jonas stayed in Stockholm to lick his wounds after the breakup. And while Madeleine was away in New York to get over the break up Jonas became closer to Madeleine’s childhood friend, Stephanie af Klercker. The two eventually started secretly dating and in early 2011 it was official; they were a couple.
When Madeleine heard the news she is said to have immediately broken off all contact with Stephanie.
Stephanie and Jonas got engaged in October 2012, just like Madeleine and Chris. Madeleine married Chris on 8 June 2013. Stephanie and Jonas got married on 17 August 2013 in Stora Mellösa church. The reception was held at Stephanie’s family estate in Hjelmarsnäs, Sweden. Her bridesmaids were Malin Andrén and Elinore Sylwander.
Naturally when you are a part of Stockholms high-society you are bound to have some mutual friends as is the case with Madeleine and Stephanie. Some of the same guests who attended Madeleine and Chris’ wedding also attended Stephanie and Jonas’ wedding. Among others Louise Gottlieb who is Madeleine’s best friend. According to unverified rumors, Stephanie asked Louise to be her bridesmaid which she originally agreed on but later refused out of respect for Madeleine.
After all the chaos and everything Madeleine and Jonas went through from their breakup and until they met their new partners it is good to see that both are now happy and in love again. Although the couples unevitably are bound to run into each other in the future with all the mutual friends between them it is safe to say the hardest part truly is over.
Currently, Jonas Bergström is a partner at the Stockholm based Law firm Vinge KB and Stephanie is a co-founder at Soft Goat. They live in Sweden together with their three children Katinka, Sebastian and Wilhelm.
Picture above: Jonas Bergström with his wife Stephanie on their 5 year wedding anniversary, 17 August 2018.
Princess Madeleine is married to investor Chris O’Neill and they currently live in Florida but have plans to move to Stockholm, Sweden in the year 2024. Their children are Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas and Princess Adrienne.
Hi there! This blog post couldn’t be written much better!
Reading through this post reminds me of my previous roommate!
He always kept talking about this. I’ll forward
this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a very good read.
I appreciate you for sharing!
Thank you for spreading the word about my blog Stephen. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂 If you enjoy this type of content, please consider subscribing to my newsletter. Here you can see a preview and subscribe if you like it: https://majesticscoops.ck.page/posts/the-royal-newsletter-17-may-2024