Olivier de Kersauson confides for the first time about his love story with Florence Arthaud

Olivier de Kersauson, sailor and writer, spoke to our colleagues at Paris Match on the occasion of the release of his new book Before memory fades. At 80, he looks back on his romance with Florence Arthaud.

Olivier de Kersauson, speaks in the columns of Paris Match on the occasion of the release of his new book Before the memory fades. Among the notable confidences, he finally confirms his romance with Florence Arthaud, the famous sailor who tragically disappeared in 2015. The man also wanted to speak openly about the biopic Flo by director Géraldine Danon, released in cinemas in November 2023 and which is precisely inspired by the life of the navigator.

Olivier de Kersauson confides like never before about his love story with Florence Arthaud

It was in 1978, on the pontoons of Saint-Malo, that their story began, just before the first edition of the Route du Rhum. “She was a little reserved, I liked her straight away“, he confides to Paris Match. He was 34, she was 21. Their relationship remained hidden from prying eyes, nourished by deep mutual admiration. “Florence was excessive, but above all she was courageous, intelligent, generous (…) She forgave everything and everyone. A secular saint, a barefoot countess“, he recalls. However, the biopic Flodirected by Géraldine Danon and released in 2023, seems to have awakened memories: “The film about Florence Arthaud is a lie, a sordid invention, an imposture. Nothing is true“, he confides before adding: “I did have a love story with Florence, but it has nothing to do with what is told.”

“I'm not asking to leave“: Olivier de Kersauson talks about his fight against cancer

In 2018, Olivier de Kersauson learned that he had lung cancer. He faces illness without complaining or feeling sorry for himself. “I didn't ask to come and I'm not asking to leave. Why must we disappear? Nobody knows. But the day I have to leave, I will only have thanks to give to life“, he confided. For Olivier de Kersauson, you have to be accepting of the situation. “My parents' generation accepted their destiny. She used this expression: 'It's my lot.' I have the same vision of things: we make do with what we have received and we don't bother others with our misfortunes.”