Waitress Natalia Alieva's marriage to a Dubai sheikh
Natalia Alieva never believed in fairy tales, and she had no time for them anyway. Every day she had to rush to her university classes, and afterwards spend long hours on her feet working as a waitress. Everything changed on an ordinary day: while serving orange juice to a mysterious guest, she had no idea that in a week she would be trying on a wedding dress, and two weeks later — flying to Dubai as the wife of an influential sheikh. A luxurious palace, jewels, servants… But the fairy tale was destined to end, and there was no way back.
«It was love at first sight»
From childhood, Natalia stood out in no way among her peers and was no overachiever. She lived in a suburb of Minsk with her mom and dad and saw a beautiful, wealthy life only in TV series. After school, Alieva moved to the capital of Belarus and enrolled in the physical education department at an institute there. She failed to get a state-funded spot, and her parents struggled to pay the tuition, so Natalia got a job at a hotel.
«A quite independent girl. She was studying at the institute and, to pay for her studies, came to work as a waitress,» shared Veronica Shkurova, the head waitress of the Minsk hotel.
In 2007, shooting competitions were held in Minsk. The hotel was packed with visiting guests. Among them was Dubai sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum al-Maktoum. The wealthy heir came to Belarus for another sports award, but instead found something more valuable.
Unlike other guests, Saeed did not come down to dine in the restaurant, did not relax in the lobby, and practically never left his room. One day he asked for some orange juice to be brought to him. Everyone was bustling about in the restaurant at that time and tasked Natasha, who was free at that moment, to go up.
Alieva lingered in the prince«s room longer than expected. Saeed liked the young and obliging girl. He tried to strike up a conversation with her, but Natasha answered briefly or remained silent altogether. For Saeed, this was a sign of modesty and attracted him even more. In reality, Alieva had poor English.
The acquaintance did not end with one glass of juice. Saeed asked for more to be brought, but this time he specifically indicated that Natasha should do it and no one else. The pair talked for six days, and when it was time for Saeed to prepare to leave for Dubai, he did not want to part with Alieva and proposed to her.
«She was very much in love and happy. After all, it was love at first sight,» says Veronica Shkurova.
To prove the seriousness of his intentions, Saeed went to Natasha«s parents and asked for her hand from her father and mother. To say they were shocked to see the crown prince on the threshold of their modest apartment is an understatement. But they were completely speechless after Saeed honestly admitted that back home he already had a wife and five children.
Natasha was not at all bothered by the idea of being a second wife; she was not afraid that she would have to drop out of the institute, forget her friends, move from her parents to Dubai, and convert to Islam. She was ready to do all this for Saeed. The sheikh, in turn, promised that he would never abandon Alieva and that she would want for nothing.
No matter how her parents tried to get through to their daughter about the sacrifices she was making, she did not want to listen. So there was nothing left but to support her and give consent to the marriage. The couple quietly registered their marriage at one of Minsk«s registry offices and flew to the UAE, where Natasha began a completely new life.
«It turned out like a fairy tale…»
In Dubai, Natasha converted to Islam and took a new name — Aisha. Saeed brought his young wife to a luxurious mansion and declared that she was now the full mistress of this house. The sheikh provided security, a personal driver, and promised that whatever Aisha wanted, he would immediately fulfill.
At first, Saeed constantly spoiled his beloved with gifts: a car, gold jewelry. Once he even gave her a small cheetah so she wouldn«t be bored living alone. The girl couldn»t get over how lucky she was with her husband: loving, caring. He allowed Aisha not to cover her face, as other husbands demand, offered to move her entire family to Dubai so she would lack for nothing. What more could one dream of?
«Natasha has two maids, a cook, gardeners. Peacocks walk in the yard, roe deer in the enclosure. A little cheetah in the house. She plays with it like a cat! Now she»s even asking her husband to get a panther. I was worried, to be honest, at first: what if they lured the girl somewhere, but it turned out like this — like in a fairy tale…« Aisha»s father said after one of his visits to his daughter.
At first, Saeed took Aisha with him on all his trips. They stayed in luxurious hotels, flew only by private jet, and no journey was without gifts and romantic surprises. During this carefree fairy tale, which seemed would never end, Aisha became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, and a year later — another one.
Over time, it emerged that such a life had a dark side, which Natasha in the throes of love had not noticed. She had no right to choose. Only her husband decided what they would do and how she would look. And most importantly, he had full rights over their shared children, whom Aisha loved dearly.
Saeed realized that he had loved Natasha, but Aisha had become quite boring to him. He no longer arranged surprises for her, did not take her to competitions, and even came to visit only for the children«s sake. Love was melting away between the spouses before their eyes, and Aisha could do nothing about it.
In 2015, Saeed introduced Aisha to his third wife — an Azerbaijani gymnast named Zeynab. To his new companion, he also gave a separate house, a nice car, and promised full support. Now he spent nights on end with her, and completely forgot about the one who had flown to Dubai for him eight years earlier.
Aisha had only two options — to endure that she was now forever in a golden cage, which no one approached, even to say a few affectionate words, or to divorce. The second option fell away by itself after Aisha saw what would happen to her in that case.
«These are the sheikh»s affairs, we can do nothing«
In 2020, Saeed«s third wife Zeynab filed for divorce. On her social media, she said that she had been subjected to violence by her husband, as well as insults from his entourage.
«My husband»s manager abused me. But no one tried to help me or protect me. Everyone kept saying: «These are the sheikh»s affairs, we can do nothing,«» Saeed«s third wife confessed with tears in her eyes.
After the divorce, Zeynab dreamed of only one thing: to take her two daughters, whom she had managed to give birth to during five years of marriage, and fly to Azerbaijan. But this turned out not to be so simple: the girl began to receive threats and there were repeated attempts to kidnap the children.
«She wants to return to a free life and leave Dubai, but the sheikh won»t allow it,« sources from Zeynab»s circle said.
No matter how much the girl tried to hide and appeal to the consulate and the UN, no one helped her. The children were taken away, and Saeed sued to strip her of parental rights.
