Weinstein’s wife: I was so humiliated and broken I couldn’t leave house for f ive months
THE estranged wife of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has revealed that she was left ‘so humiliated and so broken’ by the sex abuse claims against him that she did not go out in public for five months.
In her first interview since allegations of rape and sexual assault were made in October, fashion designer Georgina Chapman said she was so shocked she struggled to keep food down and lost 4.5kgs in five days.
The 42-year-old said she was ‘never’ suspicious about Weinstein’s behaviour and that the Oscar-winning producer, 66, was a ‘wonderful husband’ and father to their children India, seven, and Dashiell, five.
In an interview with American Vogue, Ms Chapman – who has filed for divorce from her husband of ten years – said: ‘I was so humiliated and so broken…that…I, I, I…didn’t think it was respectful to go out. I thought, “Who am I to be parading around with all of this going on?”.
‘It’s still so very, very raw. I was walking up the stairs the other day and I stopped; it was like all the air had been punched out of my lungs.’
Asked how long it took her to absorb the information when the allegations emerged, Ms Chapman, who grew up in London, said: ‘About two days. My head was spinning.
‘And it was difficult, because the first article was about a time long before I’d ever met him. And then the stories expanded and I realised that this wasn’t an isolated incident. And I knew that I needed to step away and take the kids.’
Weinstein’s homes in the Hamptons, Connecticut and New York’s West Village have now been sold. Ms Chapman still lives in the New York townhouse he bought in 2006. But she has put a bid on a farm in upstate New York to ‘create something better for my children’. She said: ‘My daughter loves riding; my son responds to animals. I need to build a farm … I promised the
‘I just cry for my children’
kids donkeys and goats.’
Ms Chapman co-owns fashion label Marchesa, whose dresses have been worn by stars including Lily James, Poppy Delevingne and Eva Longoria. After the scandal broke, she cancelled the show for Marchesa’s autumn 2018 collection and decided not to offer any clothes for the awards season.
‘We didn’t feel it appropriate,’ she said. ‘All the women who have been hurt deserve dignity and respect. It’s a time for mourning, really.’ But she still has loyal supporters who have requested clothes by the label despite the allegations. Scarlett Johansson chose to wear a Marchesa gown to Monday’s Met Gala in New York.
Recounting the weeks after allegations about Weinstein were printed in US newspapers, Ms Chapman said: ‘There was a part of me that was terribly naive. I have moments of disbelief and I have moments when I just cry for my children.
‘What are their lives going to be? What are people going to say to them? They love their dad. It is almost unbearable to witness, this broken person in front of me. I just can’t bear it for them.’
Asked if the couple had had good marriage, she replied: ‘That’s what makes this so incredibly painful: I had what I thought was a very happy marriage. I loved my life.’
Was she ever suspicious about his behaviour? ‘Absolutely not. Never. He was a wonderful partner to me. He was a friend and a confidant and a supporter.’
Ms Chapman said she does not want to be seen as a victim ‘because I don’t think I am…I am a woman in a s*** situation, but it’s not unique’.
Weinstein, once thought to be worth $240million, has been at a rehab clinic in Arizona since the scandal broke.
He has been accused of rape, sexual assault and harassment by more than 80 women across the entertainment industry.
Weinstein denies all allegations of ‘non-consensual’ sex.