MARY-KATE’S BITTER DIVORCE
THE NEWLY SINGLE MOGUL WON’T GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT
Twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have spent a lifetime spinning their child stardom into a fashion empire worth an estimated $340 million each. So when Mary-Kate filed for divorce from her French financier husband Olivier Sarkozy in May, an insider told Us Weekly she was relying on her “ironclad prenup” to ensure “her business interests and fortune are protected”. Sarkozy, who is the brother of former French President Nicholas Sarkozy, has his own estimated $82 million fortune.
When the estranged pair face-off at their next court hearing, set for December 15, the assets of contention will most likely be property Olsen and Sarkozy purchased together during their five-year marriage.
As newlyweds in 2015, the couple – who met at a party in April 2012 – bought a five-bedroom townhouse in Manhattan for $17.7 million. The luxury property boasts seven fireplaces, a garden promenade, a hall of mirrors, a rooftop pool and a private garage and elevator, which is crucial for fiercely private Olsen.
Expensive real estate and living arrangements have been a point of contention since the start of their split, when Olsen requested an emergency court order claiming Sarkozy had terminated the lease on their $44,000-a-month Gramercy Park apartment without her knowledge.
“My husband expects me to move out of our home on Monday, May 18, 2020 in the middle of New York City being on pause due to COVID-19,” she claimed in court documents. She added she was “petrified that my husband is trying to deprive me of the home that we have lived in and if he is successful, I will not only lose my home, but I risk losing my personal property as well”. Her initial case was rejected, but she officially filed for divorce on May 25.
Additionally, multiple sources claimed the 34-year-old fashion designer was pushed to end her marriage after Sarkozy invited his ex-wife, Charlotte Bernard, and his teenage children to move in with the couple at their five-bedroom $7.5 million Bridgehampton home.
“While Mary-Kate loves his children, it was too much to have his ex-wife living with them during the pandemic,” a source told Page Six at the time. “Would you want the ex-wife living with you for an unforeseeable amount of time in the middle of a crisis?”
Another source claimed the marriage had already long run its course when the 51-year-old invited his ex-wife into their marital home. “It was simply erosion …
“It was too much to have his ex-wife living with them”
– SOURCE
growing apart. No cheating or betrayals … sometimes couples just run their course,” shared the second source. “The plan to move in his family was his way of moving on, and the final straw for Mary-Kate.”
Instead, Olsen dropped $450,000 to spend her summer in her own rental home in the Hamptons, before returning to New York City’s Upper East Side to get back to work with her twin sister on their fashion lines, The Row and Elizabeth and James.
“She’s single and having fun. She’s not seriously with anyone, but she’s dating,” a source told Entertainment Tonight back in October. “She’s doing great and seems happier than she’s been in a long time.”