Telma Ortiz rolled down her car window outside the Italian Embassy in Madrid and nodded to the crowd, showing her pride in her nieces, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía. The gesture came as she left a private ceremony for her friend, the famous bailaor Joaquín Cortés, who had just been named a Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy for his artistic work in the country.
Ortiz’s show of support comes as the younger royals face intense public attention. She did not speak directly to reporters, but her support for Leonor and Sofía stood out. In Spain’s royal circles, silence is often the norm. Ortiz called the event “very beautiful.” The evening honored Cortés’s long career in flamenco and his work with Italian cultural groups. He choreographed for the Arena di Verona at just 19. ANSA Latina and La Razón report that the Order of the Star of Italy is a civilian award recognizing efforts to build ties between Italy and other countries. The Italian ambassador in Madrid presented Cortés with the honor.
The evening also came amid personal changes for Ortiz. After six years with lawyer Robert Gavin, the father of her youngest daughter, Erin, Ortiz ended the relationship. News of the split broke in September last year, although they had separated months earlier. She handled it quietly. Both parents have kept things respectful and focused on their daughter, and they still show up together for Erin. Lecturas reported on the couple’s continued cooperation for their child.
Ortiz has begun appearing in public more often, putting her energy into work and humanitarian causes. In February, she attended an event at the Ateneo de Barcelona in support of the Akram Loubad Foundation’s work to bring heart care to Gaza. The cause is personal: Ortiz once worked as an aid worker in Gaza, and that experience continues to shape her view of humanitarian work.
This summer, Ortiz attended the Starlite Occident Gala 2026 in Marbella, representing CAF, Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina y el Caribe, as head of Global Strategic Alliances. She joined Alfonso Cisneros of Venezuela Sin Límites and Unidos en Red to announce a new partnership aimed at helping Venezuela recover after the June earthquakes. Ortiz spoke about the world’s problems. She said, “Love and peace and being surrounded by this aura of joy is what we would all like in life, to always be like this everywhere in the world. But, unfortunately, we know this is not the case and we are surrounded by wars, humanitarian crises, genocides, natural or man-made disasters.” She changed her own schedule to focus on aid for Venezuela.
Ortiz’s approach differs from the strict privacy other Spanish celebrities maintain, as reported earlier. She chooses when to be seen and uses her public role to support causes that matter to her and connect with her own story.
In Spain, royal relatives often fade from view. Ortiz has quietly changed that, bringing her family ties into a more public life shaped by her professional work and humanitarian commitments.
