Entertainment | Celebrity

Showbiz Arabia: Inside Haifa Wehbe’s divorce

Did the Lebanese singer’s Egyptian husband dump her to further his political aspirations?

By Rachel McArthur, Special to tabloid!
Published: 12:33 November 21, 2012

Image Credit: AFP
Haifa Wehbe

She may have told media that they’ve parted on “good terms”, but Haifa Wehbe’s impending divorce from Ahmad Abu Hashimah is set to go down as one of the costliest and most dramatic in Arab entertainment history – now that the Egyptian government is allegedly involved.

According to the latest Arab news reports, it was the wealthy Egyptian businessman who decided to split from the Lebanese singer due to financial and political reasons. Apparently, the relationship was becoming “too expensive” for Hashimah — not because Haifa was splashing his cash — but because he reportedly had to pay up in order to maintain his high profile status in his home country.

“Due to the change in Egypt’s political landscape, things had become different for Haifa and Ahmad,” reported Arab news website Wikeez. “While Ahmad’s family had never really accepted his marriage, they were easy enough to live with. However, now that Ahmad wants to get involved in politics and make it into parliament, he is finding that he is being looked down on for being with a singer.

“As a result, his money is his saviour for the time being.”

With Hashimah’s goal to make it into parliament, it is alleged that the Muslim Brotherhood played a part in orchestrating the divorce. However, it seems that the political party does not want to stop there with the Lebanese songstress.

Egypt’s minister of information Salah Abdul Maqsoud — a Brotherhood member — told Al Ettihad newspaper that he has verbally agreed to ban Haifa from any state-run broadcasting network – whether on TV or radio. While the reason for this was not offered by the minister, there’s no doubt that this move could prove costly to Haifa’s career, leading to her being prevented from making future appearances in Egypt.

Meanwhile, Haifa hasn’t commented on any affairs regarding her split since she posted the phone call she made to LBC announcing the divorce a week ago. Despite being an avid Tweeter, the singer has not been seen on her official Twitter account since November 12.

BOX:

Is 42-year-old Haifa now a grandmother?

Arab news website Sayidaty has posted pictures of a baby girl that is said to be the newborn of Haifa’s estranged daughter, Zeinab.

Zeinab, who has not kept contact with her famous mother, is Haifa’s only child from her first marriage back in the nineties.

Briefs:

Maya gunning for trouble

Maya Diab has proven she is not the sharpest tool in the box by posting a picture of an unlicenced weapon online.

Earlier this week, the Lebanese singer took to her official Twitter account to post photos of the gifts she received for her birthday. One of them was of a handgun engraved with her name.

Maya described the pistol as a “special gift from a special friend”. Unfortunately for her, she has landed herself in hot water with Lebanese authorities due to the fact the weapon has not been registered.

Additionally, Maya has come under fire by fans for promoting gun crime.

Who will judge of X Factor Arabia

We’ve lost track of the number of reality TV competitions coming over to the Arab world. In fact, producers might be running out of celebrities to choose from to appear as judges.

With X Factor Arabia wrapping up auditions across the region, the rumour mill as to who is being appointed as the Middle East’s answer to Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, LA Reid and Simon Cowell is in overdrive. According to various Arab news reports, Tamer Hosni is in negotiations with CBC to appear on the show, as are Wael Kafoury, Elissa and Carole Samaha. Watch this space.

ARABIA ONLINE

“I had isolated myself from the world for a very long time. The Voice [Middle East] has encouraged me to break away from this isolation and be comfortable in the public eye.”

— Iraqi singer Kathem Al Saher

“Starring in Ruby has been the biggest failure of my acting career. The script would often be changed by [writer] Claudia Marshlayan and [lead star] Cyrine Abdel Nour, leading to problems off-screen.”

— Egyptian actor Amir Kararah is not a fan of Ruby, despite it being a huge TV hit across the region