LONDON (The Thursday Times) — Princess Mahra bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the daughter of Dubai’s ruler and UAE Prime Minister, is engaged to Moroccan-American rapper French Montana after a whirlwind year in which she divorced her first husband in a very public Instagram post and swiftly began a new chapter with the hip-hop star, per TMZ.
Montana, born Karim Kharbouch, proposed to the 31-year-old princess during Paris Fashion Week in June while appearing as a model at the 3.Paradis Spring/Summer 2026 show, his representatives confirmed. Although the couple have shared glimpses of their relationship online, details of the proposal remain private and no wedding date has been set.
The engagement comes almost exactly a year after Sheikha Mahra stunned the Gulf’s social scene by announcing her split from Sheikh Mana bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mana Al Maktoum. In July 2024 she used Instagram to parody the controversial practice of triple repudiation, writing “I divorce you, I divorce you, and I divorce you” in a statement that accused her husband of neglect and companionship elsewhere.
The pair had wed in a lavish ceremony in April 2023 and welcomed a daughter in May 2024, but the marriage dissolved within weeks. By the autumn of that year Mahra was first photographed with French Montana, sparking speculation that soon gave way to confirmation of a romance. Since then they have been spotted at dinners, cultural visits in Dubai, and even on camel rides.
This is the second marriage for both. Montana, who became a US citizen in 2018, previously married Deen Kharbouch with whom he shares a son. Their divorce was finalised in 2014. For Mahra, whose family is worth an estimated $18 billion, the engagement marks another turn in a personal story that has unfolded as much on social media as in the palaces of Dubai.∎
