An undated video released by ISIL in 2015 purportedly shows the caliph of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi | EPA from ISIL video ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was ‘a family man’ says his ex-wife The leader of ISIL was ‘shallow’ and ‘mysterious.’

The world's most wanted terrorist was "a family man" and "ideal father," according to his ex-wife.

Saja al-Dulaimi, the former wife of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, lifted the lid on their relationship in an interview with Sweden's Expressen on Friday, and said she now wants to move to Europe.

Expressen said it spoke to al-Dulaimi, 28, in a secret location near the Lebanon-Syria border. It was her first interview since being released from a Lebanese prison last year.

Iraq-born al-Dulaimi said in 2008 she thought she was marrying "a normal person, a university lecturer" not a bloodthirsty terrorist.

She described him as uncommunicative and having a "mysterious personality."

"I didn't love him. He was an enigmatic person. You couldn't have a discussion or hold a normal conversation with him ... He gave orders, nothing more."

But she praised al-Baghdadi's parenting skills: "He loved the children. He was their idol. He was an excellent person in that respect, but my relationship with him was shallow."

She claims the last time she spoke to her ex-husband was in 2009 when he asked her to come back and she refused.

Al-Dulaimi was arrested in Lebanon in December 2014 for trying to cross the border illegally using a fake identity card. She was then shown pictures of al-Baghdadi and asked if she recognized him. It was only then, she said, that she realized he had become the powerful leader of ISIL.

Al-Dulaimi now wants a better life for her and her three children in Europe. "I want to live in a European country, not an Arab country," she said. "I want my children to live and get an education."

"If I'd wanted to live with him, I'd have lived like a princess," she said. "But I don't want money. I want to live in freedom, to live like everyone else."

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