Princess Märtha Louise of Norway says she and her children entered a 'valley of sorrow' after her ex-husband's death

• Princess Märtha Louise of Norway opened up about her ex-husband's death by suicide.
• She spoke on the "Zoom O'Clock" podcast with former princess of Luxembourg, Tessy Antony de Nassau.

Princess Märtha Louise shared intimate details about grieving Ari Behn, her ex-husband and the father to her three children, after his death by suicide on Christmas Day 2019.

The 50-year-old princess opened up about the impact Behn's death had on her family on the latest episode of the "Zoom O'Clock" podcast on January 10, hosted by Tessy Antony de Nassau, a 36-year-old former princess who married Prince Louis of Luxembourg in 2006, Mail Online reported. The podcast host was stripped of her title upon their divorce in 2019, the publication added.

"I think it's so important that whatever we go through as human beings, and we all go through so many different things, and sorrow is something we all have to meet at a certain point in life," Märtha Louise told de Nassau.

"Unfortunately, my kids met it at a very young age. But we all go through it at some point, and I think it's really important the lessons we all learn from that — that you can't go round it, you have to go through it," she added.

According to the Norwegian Royal Family's website, Märtha Louise married Behn, an author, on May 24, 2002. It adds that the couple had three children, Maud Angelica, 18, Leah Isadora, 16, and Emma Tallulah, 13, before divorcing in 2017.

On May 12, 2019, she announced her relationship with an LA-based shaman, Durek Verrett, Insider previously reported. Posting a photo of themselves on Instagram, she described Verrett as a "twin flame" who taught her "unconditional love actually exists."

Speaking to de Nassau about her personal experience of grief, she said: "It is like having tunnel vision because it does cover everything. You can get stuck in that sorrow and you can go into a pit of depression, which I did, and you can get out of it as well."

Märtha Louise opened up about Behn's death in an Instagram post on the day of his funeral, which took place on January 3, 2020, at Oslo Cathedral, according to People.

A post shared by Princess Märtha Louise (@princessmarthalouise)

Under a photo of Behn, People reported that she wrote: "Dear Ari, We were supposed to be together at Christmas and celebrating. We had all been looking forward to it. And we are so infinitely sad and sorry for the loss of just you, because you were the girls' warm, funny, wise and good dad that they so dearly miss."

Acknowledging his "invisible illness," she concluded: "We keep you in love, Ari, and move on with your words: Every day is a party and you are a piece of jewelry."

Earlier in the podcast episode, Märtha Louise also said she was "really proud" that her eldest daughter Maud had channeled the loss of her father into a creative outlet, creating a bestselling book in Norway titled "Threads of Tears," which explores grief.

"This has been a very positive thing for her to share with people so that she also could work through her pain and all the things that she has been through with her sorrow," said Märtha Louise, adding that the "valley of sorrow" is a physically exhausting place to be.

She added that the education system is "not good enough" at teaching people how to support each other through depression, saying: "We don't learn these things that are so crucial for all human beings."

Representatives for Princess Märtha Louise and de Nassau did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.