Nadia Bengala speaks about her daughter Diana’s legal and addiction issues

Nadia Bengala speaks again about the very difficult time she is going through with her daughter Diana, who has been sentenced to ten months in prison for attempted unlawful robbery, attempted aggravated theft and aggravated assault. The former Miss Italy, today a guest at Verissimo, talks about her pain.

Verissimo, weekend guests (Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 October): the drama of the daughter of Nadia Bengala and Barbara Palombelli with Francesco Rutelli

«My daughter is reckless. She doesn’t understand what’s happening to her. She doesn’t see that she is walking on the edge of a cliff. She slowly slides into the abyss and from there she will never rise again.»the former Miss Italy told Corriere della Sera. And she asked for help from the judges. «A sensitive and intelligent girl. But drugs change her, she slides into the abyss. To save her, the only way is to hospitalize her. A judge must take responsibility for ordering her mandatory hospitalization. She will never go of her own free will. And then it will be the end.» Then she repeats: «I alone cannot save her.»

Nadia Bengala, who is she

Nadia Bengala was born in Syracuse on May 26, 1962 (she is 62 years old). In 1985 she took part in the television show Zodiaco. At the age of 26, she recorded some episodes as a showgirl for the TV show Ok, the price is right!, presented by Iva Zanicchi, and in the same summer she signed the contract and took part in the Miss Italy selections. In September 1988, she was crowned the winner of the Miss Italy title by Fabrizio Frizzi. Then came the theater and cinema for her. After a break of a few years, the model resumed her career in 2004 and became a commentator for L’Italia sul 2. After participating as a participant in the reality show Ritorno al presente in 2005, she starred in Una vita violata in 2009, her last video. Subsequently, Nadia Bengala gradually distanced herself from both film and television, with the exception of a few short films shot between 2013 and 2020.

The reasons to leave TV

Nadia Bengala herself revealed the reasons why she distanced herself from the entertainment world in an interview she gave to the weekly magazine Oggi in 2017, in which she revealed some dramatic aspects of her private life. «Miss Italy cheated on me. I convinced myself that you could win by doing everything on your own, without coercion. It’s not like that – she explained –. I had endless obstacles, let alone little pushes. Primarily from men. They said they loved me, but all they could do was take. As soon as I had the chance, they would make it disappear».

The political career

When she distanced herself from the spotlight, Bengala devoted herself to politics for a while: in 2009 she stood as a candidate for the European elections for the La Destra party. In 2021, she ran for the Rome City Council, with a list supporting Virginia Raggi in the municipal elections. But she was never chosen.

Private life

As for her private life, we know that she was in a relationship with a man named Otto Schivardi, from whom she had her only daughter, Diana, in 1996. However, the following year their relationship ended. She has been in a relationship with an entrepreneur since 2007 Alessandro Stocchi.

Nadia Bengala: «My daughter Diana needs help, drugs change her. I can’t do it alone, she has to be hospitalized»

Also in Oggi, the former Miss Italy revealed that she gave up her career due to some wrong relationships with possessive men: «I caused a morbid jealousy. Sometimes even violence. Only I know the strokes. I defended myself, I gave some, but I also got many»

The relationship with the daughter

At one point the relationship with her daughter Diana deteriorated, as she herself said about Domenica In: «My daughter disappeared a year ago, we had a fight because she loves a man 30 years older. I was a strict mother, perhaps too present, perhaps too hard because I was both mother and father». Bengala tried to recover, but apparently nothing could be done.

Diana Schivani, the conviction: what happened

However, in 2024, the names of Nadia Bengala and her daughter are back in the spotlight. Her daughter Diana Schivardi is sentenced to 10 months for damage, theft, attempted theft and assault. The 28-year-old was caught red-handed trying to steal from a number of cars in Rome’s Trionfale district, and when a passerby intervened to stop her, she was attacked. The former Miss Italy then revealed her daughter’s addiction problems and stated this to Corriere della Sera «Diana is a sensitive and intelligent girl. But drugs change her, she slides into the abyss». And she asked for help: «To save her, the only way is to hospitalize her. A judge must take responsibility for ordering her mandatory hospitalization. She will never go of her own free will. And then it will be the end.» Then she repeats: «I alone cannot save her.» A trial at which Diana, however, did not appear. «My daughter unfortunately lives in her own reality. I dedicate every minute of my time to her. I do it with love, because she needs it. I explain, but she is distant, I don’t think she understood how serious the conviction is and the reasons behind it»

How Diana is doing

And they listened to her. As a guest on the program Storie di Donne al Bivio, the woman announced in September that the 28-year-old had entered a community: «She’s better. Slowly and with patience we made it». Although it was not easy to convince her to stay in the institution, the worst seems to be over now, partly thanks to the fact that the former Miss Italy never left her daughter alone: «After she walked out of the hospital in March, I spent months with her all the time. I specifically rented a room, I slept with her, spent all the time with her, I hardly saw my partner because I tried to be with her as much as possible. Something she could hardly tolerate, but slowly and with patience we managed it»