The personal relationship between Margherita and Umberto was not a success. Even before their wedding, Umberto was already involved in an affair with his long term lover, Eugenia Attendolo Bolognini, and two years after their wedding, the couple reportedly discontinued their marital relations. Their son was therefore to remain their only child. However, they never made their personal separation known to the public, and their relationship was in other aspects quite amiable: Margherita and Umberto worked together harmoniously as colleagues, Umberto even relying on her politically.