“It has ups and downs.” It was with this phrase that Jair Bolsonaro summarized the relationship between his wife Michelle and their four children from previous marriages, in an interview with journalist Leo Dias in February 2025. The story of this unstable bond, with episodes of public conflicts since 2021, gained new development this Wednesday, 24. Michelle published videos reporting having been humiliated, disrespected and mistreated by Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ).
Michelle’s most recent statement came amid Flávio’s pre-campaign, while the former president’s eldest son is still trying to recover from the negative impact of the leaked audios that reveal the relationship between him and Daniel Vorcaro.
The crises began to be reported by the press in July 2021, when reports of tension in the marriage between Michelle and Jair emerged.
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According to the portal Metropolisesthe reason would be the relationship between the former first lady and Jair’s children. At the time, Michelle and Carlos Bolsonaro (PL-SC) had not spoken to each other for some time. With Jair Renan, son of the former president’s second marriage, she never had a good relationship and even vetoed him living at Palácio da Alvorada. At the time, there was a growing distance between Michelle and Flávio and Eduardo, the two stepsons with whom she had, until then, the closest relationship.
A month later, in August 2021, Jair Bolsonaro was admitted to Vila Nova Star Hospital, in São Paulo. On this occasion, Michelle and Carlos had a disagreement due to their son’s constant presence at the place. The then first lady complained that Carlos did not give the couple space.
A few months later, in January 2022, a new episode publicly exposed the wear and tear. Carlos, responsible for managing his father’s social networks, published a video without a Libras interpreter. Michelle criticized the lack of accessibility in the publication, writing that “the live that is not accessible does not deserve likes”.
With Jair Renan, the youngest of the four children, the most notorious disagreement also occurred in 2022, on the eve of that year’s election. The confusion was motivated by Ana Cristina Valle, Renan’s mother and the former president’s second wife. Michelle criticized the use of the surname “Bolsonaro” in political campaigns by his ex-wife. Renan countered by stating that his mother had contributed to Bolsonaro’s arrival as President and that, therefore, he had the “right” to use his father’s surname in his candidacy.
Another clash involved Eduardo Bolsonaro. On February 20, 2026, the former deputy publicly criticized Michelle’s lack of support for Flávio’s pre-candidacy for President. The following day, the former first lady published a video on social media making fried bananas. The publication was read as an indirect provocation to his stepson, called a “little banana” by political opponents.
With Flávio, serious conflicts occurred due to the electoral scenario in Ceará. It was precisely in this context in which the pre-candidate would have humiliated Michelle.
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On November 30, 2025, Michelle publicly criticized the PL’s alliance with Ciro Gomes (PSDB-CE) in Ceará and defended Eduardo Girão’s (Novo) candidacy for government. The next day, Flávio called his stepmother “authoritarian”. On December 24, Michelle published a video with a message about persevering in the face of “betrayal”, which was interpreted as a message.
After these statements, the fight was on the back burner and only resurfaced this Wednesday. In addition to reporting the humiliation, Michelle took the opportunity to defend her own political constructions while she was in charge of PL Mulher. He said he traveled around Brazil, installed directories in all 27 units of the federation and contributed to electing a thousand and five women in 2024 – an increase of 45.8% compared to 2020. “For him and some people around him, I don’t understand politics”, he said. The former first lady concluded by stating that she had said “almost everything” that needed to be said.
Flávio responded with a note in which he denied having disrespected, mistreated or humiliated his stepmother. He stated that, if he had offended Michelle “at any point”, he apologized, and said he had an “open heart” for dialogue.
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In the note, Flávio also attributed Michelle’s manifestation to “anguish” over her father’s situation, while he described his own stance as that of someone who “remains firm”.
Flávio’s note was republished by the brothers Eduardo and Jair Renan Bolsonaro.
