Mortar and the women

Richard Lugner, the eternal romantic

Richard Lugner, the eternal romantic: it was only in June that Mörtel said "I do" to his "little bee" - the sixth wedding for the Opera Ball zampano.(Bild: Alexander Tuma)

A life like in a reality TV soap opera - six weddings, five divorces and a whole zoo of "little animals" provided variety in Mörtel's life. But he never got bored ...

Richard Lugner had never ruled out a sixth marriage - and his belief in love was to pay off. At the age of 91, he walked down the aisle at Vienna City Hall on June 1, 2024.

Brief marital bliss with "little bee"
After his wedding to Simone "Bienchen" Reiländer, 49 years his junior, his happiness was written all over his face. Partly because of the "blessing of the stars" from astrologer Gerda Rogers, whose opinion he always valued highly.

Especially after "Spatzi", his fifth wife, whom Roger - as Lugner told the "Krone" - advised him not to marry. And she was proved right - two years after the wedding in Schönbrunn, they divorced in 2016.

"Zoo" kept Lugner on his toes
Before that, Lugner kept his "zoo" on its toes. Bettina "Hasi" Kofler (2008), Sonja "Käfer" Schönanger (2008-2009), Nina "Bambi" Bruckner (2009), Anastasia "Katzi" Sokol (2009-2013) and Bahati "Kolibri" Venus (2013-2014).

His petting zoo kept Richard Lugner on his toes.(Bild: Starpix/ Alexander TUMA)

"I'm just a romantic"
"I'm just a romantic," admitted the master builder, who married his childhood sweetheart Christine Gmeiner in 1961. Their 17-year marriage produced two sons, who now run Lugner's company.

In 1979, he married Cornelia Hahn and divorced four years later. Shortly after the divorce, his third wife Susanne Dietrich fell into a coma following cosmetic surgery and died. From an extramarital relationship with Sonja Jeannine, Lugner has a daughter who lives in the USA.

He was married to Christina "Mausi" Lugner from 1991 to 2007. Richard Lugner's true "great love", his daughter Jaqueline, was born in 1993.