The love story between them lasted three years, from 2003 to 2005 Lapo Elkann And Martina Stella. Galeotto was the event for the presentation of the new Ypsilon, but the couple could not resist the media pressure and the difficult personal period experienced by the scion of the Agnelli family in 2005.
The meeting at the event
June 2003. The car manufacturer Lancia organizes a social event to present the new model Ypsilon. In the suggestive location of a castle on the outskirts of Rome, numerous well-known faces from Italian cinema and television are invited and among them there is also Martina Stella. The young Florentine is 19 years old and is one of the emerging stars of cinema thanks to her interpretation “The last kiss” by Gabriele Muccino. At the party there is also the scion of the Agnelli family, Lapo Elkann, who takes care of the company’s image and an immediate understanding is born between them. Lapo involves her in the presentation of the car and the photos of Martina alongside Elkann at the cutting of the cake dedicated to the new Ypsilon soon made the rounds on the web.
The first cover
Many are starting to circulate in the environment gossip and soon the relationship between Lapo and Martina becomes public. The weekly magazine Chi dedicates its cover to the couple and publishes the first photos of the scion of the Agnelli family and the young Florentine actress together while exchanging a kiss and romantic gestures outside Stella’s home. A few days after the release of the issue of WhoAnd Novella2000 to make public the shots of a romantic evening of Martina and Lapo spent in Milano Marittima at the gala dinner of the VIP Master tennis tournament. Thinking they won’t be seen, the two come paparazzi outside the club while they kiss passionately.
Lapo and Martina’s hot summer
Summer 2003. Elkann and Martina Stella are now a permanent couple and the paparazzi chase them in every corner of the world to immortalize them on holidays between Milano Marittima, Miami and excursions in yacht. It is precisely the parties on board the luxurious boat of the scion of the Agnelli family that end up on the covers of crime magazines due to the presence of stars such as Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista. However, speaking publicly about their love remains a taboo. Interviewed by Donna Moderna, Martina neither confirms nor denies the relationship with Lapo, but clarifies: “I can only say that I have never experienced flirting. In every love story, there has been at least one moment when I thought, ‘He’s the man of my life.‘”.
The transfer to Turin
The arrival of autumn brings a big change in Martina Stella’s life. The actress has just been hired to take part in the Mediaset drama “The Seasons of the Heart” and decides to move from Rome to Turin, where the set of the series is located. This is the opportunity to start the coexistence with Lapo, who shows himself to be increasingly in love with the young Florentine. Martina officially joins the family and her presence at the stadium during Juventus – Roma alongside Lapo, Jaki and aunt Allegra, wife of Umberto Agnelli, testifies to this.
Martina’s first words about Lapo
After spending New Year’s Eve with Lapo in Morocco, guest of the Agnelli family, Martina returns to Italy ready for new professional commitments. Vanity Fair he dedicates the cover to her for her success in the world of cinema but, speaking of her relationship with Elkann, he limits his enthusiasm: “I don’t like gossip. Living at the expense of a man is not in line with me. I come from a family of women, the men are either dead or have run away or we have thrown them out. I am very independent. My agent told me scolded me. He told me that exposing myself with someone with such an important surname harms and he’s right. I don’t want to be known for boyfriends, but for the films and jobs I do“.
Signs of crisis
Spring 2004. After spending the winter on the ski slopes, Lapo and Martina show up in Portofino. The two have dinner in the square with a couple of friends, but a few days after the photos appeared in the newspapers, sources close to the couple speak of a crisis. The weekly Eva3000 pinches Lapo alone in the company of some friends on several occasions; evenings in which the absence of Martina is noticeable, paparazzi spotted alone in other places. For the pink print they are the first warnings of an imminent breakup.
Together with the Ferrari pits
The opportunity to deny the gossip about the crisis arrives with the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola. Lapo Elkann and his girlfriend Martina Stella wander around the paddock of the racetrack and the photographers capture in numerous shots the romantic gestures that the son reserves for his young girlfriend. The crisis, if there ever was, seems to be over.
The wedding rumors
August 2004. While Martina is busy on set and Lapo deals with marketing and communications for the family companies, the weekly magazine Gente drops the bomb: “The couple is close to wedding“. Those in the know maintain that the actress and the entrepreneur could get married by the end of the year in Switzerland, a place dear to them. Someone else, however, is ready to bet that the wedding will take place in the spring of 2005. To dampen the enthusiasm Stella takes care of it and, during an interview, reveals that she still feels too young to get married.
The wedding of John Elkann
September 4, 2004. It is the wedding day of John Elkann and Lavinia Borromeo. Lapo is in the front row as the groom’s best man, but Martina is not with him. The actress is busy at Venice Film Festival as a juror for the courts. For some, however, it is a sign that the couple is in crisis and the antipathy that is rumored to exist between the bride and Lapo’s girlfriend is the backdrop to the event. But the gossip is swept away on September 13, when John and Lavinia celebrate the union with a mega party at the Mole Antonelliana. Martina and Lapo are together at the party happy and smiling.
The last holidays in Saint Moritz
January 2005. Elkann and Martina take a holiday in the mountains and take refuge in Saint Moritz. As always the couple is followed by the paparazzi who make a discovery. On Martina’s ring finger there is a ringa record that smacks of promise and the photos end up in all the newspapers. Some claim that that is proof that the two are planning a future together but, in fact, those are the last photos in which Martina and Lapo will show themselves happy together.
The end of the relationship
In May the first rumors began to circulate about the farewell between Martina and Lapo. During the summer the two were photographed by paparazzi away from each other, but Elkann denied the breakup with his girlfriend in an interview. On 11 October the scion of the Agnelli family was hospitalized in very serious conditions in intensive care for aoverdose from cocaine and opiates. The alarm was raised by the woman, a transgender, with whom Lapo was at a party that night. Martina learns about Lapo’s condition from the press and, when questioned by journalists, says “worried” for Elkann’s conditions, which she defines as ex.”Professional commitments and different lifestyles had already separated them for a few months”, reports his agent revealing the end of their relationship.
Lapo Elkann and Martina Stella today
Despite the farewell, Martina Stella and Lapo Elkann remained linked by a deep friendship. “There has always been a great affection between us, we remained in excellent relationships. Through the good and bad times of life – the birth of my daughter, when he got married – we still remained close.
And this is because our history was important”, declared the actress in 2022 during an interview with Corriere. Today Lapo Elkann is married to the former rally champion Joana Lemos, while Martina Stella has recently separated from the sports agent Andrea Manfredonia.