Indonesian Model Breaks Silence, Alleges Coerced Marriage And Abuse By Malaysian Royal

Indonesian-American model Manohara Odelia accused Malaysia’s royal family of coercing her into an underage marriage, urging media to stop mislabelling her as an 'ex-wife.'

Indonesian-American model Manohara Odelia has accused members of Malaysia’s royal family of forcing her into marriage with Prince Tengku Fakhruddin.

In an Instagram post, Odelia said her association with the prince was neither romantic nor consensual. She stated that the relationship was not legally valid, as she was still a minor at the time.

“What happened during my teenage years was not a romantic relationship, not a consensual one, and not a legal marriage,” she wrote. “There was never a relationship I wanted, agreed to, or entered into voluntarily. I was a minor then, living under coercion and without freedom, meaning I had no real choice or ability to give consent.”

Odelia also criticised the media’s use of the terms “ex-wife” and mantan istri when referring to her. She said such language falsely suggests a lawful and voluntary adult marriage, which she insists was never the case. Calling the label misleading, she urged Indonesian media organisations, editors, journalists and digital platforms, including Google and Wikipedia, to stop using it. She described the continued use of the term as inaccurate and unethical journalism that distorts what actually occurred.

She further appealed to digital platforms to adopt language that more accurately reflects the reality of child marriage and abuse, rather than downplaying or sanitising it.

Odelia was married in 2008 to Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra, the son of the Sultan of Malaysia’s Kelantan state. In later interviews, she alleged that she endured sexual violence and harassment during the marriage. She also said she was closely monitored, restricted in her movements, and allowed little contact with her parents while living in the palace.

In 2009, she managed to escape from a hotel in Singapore during an official royal visit and returned to Indonesia with assistance from her mother, local authorities and the US embassy.