Couple spend 30 months in court... arguing over a five month marriage!
A MODEL and a wealthy broker who split after five months are mired in a bitter divorce squabble that has lasted six times the length of their marriage.
Marilyn Levesque has already spent more than £ 230,000 on lawyers trying to gain a share of a £20million fortune she claims her estranged husband is hiding.
Damien Hancox’s legal team claims she is not entitled to his money because she had previously ‘lived in student- style accommodation’ and the marriage was so short.
After 30 months of wrangles, the pair have been urged to stop bickering over money by a High Court judge.
Commodities broker Mr Hancox has homes in Ibiza and Verbier, the Swiss ski resort where Prince William recently holidayed with a group of friends. He had millions in assets ten years ago, according to his ex-wife. The divorced couple, now both in their early 30s, enjoyed a ‘ hedonistic’ lifestyle after meeting in 2010 and lived in a flat in South Kensington, London.
They married in July 2013 after a lavish ceremony Miss Levesque claimed cost £200,000, before separating in December of the same year. She has been photographed for agencies Montage Models and Nevs Models.
Miss Levesque claims her ex-husband has not disclosed his true wealth and evidence shows he had assets of more than £20million in 2007 – the year he declared himself bankrupt.
She said there were photographs of ‘bundles of cash’ at the home they shared, money was ‘ spent freely’ during their marriage and her former husband operated Swiss bank accounts in company names.
Mr Hancox would regularly spend more than £4,000 in one trip to a nightclub and ran up a £200,000 credit card bill in a year, Miss Levesque’s lawyers told Mr Justice Baker. But Mr Christopher McCourt, representing Mr Hancox, questioned how much she should be allowed to walk away with following a marriage lasting less than half a year. Miss Levesque had always ‘lived in student- style accommodation,’ he added.
The model’s barrister, Justin Warshaw QC, said the ‘mess’ had been created because Mr Hancox had refused to disclose financial information. The judge told the squabbling pair: ‘The more money you spend on legal proceedings, the less money there will be to share between you.’ Mr Hancox has won the latest round of the fight after he appealed against orders made against him at a private family court hearing in late 2016.
He complained of unfairness as a result of being forced to take part in the hearing over the telephone from Ibiza because he had pneumonia.
Mr Justice Baker analysed the complaints on Thursday and concluded that rival claims should be reconsidered at a fresh hearing.
The most costly divorce settlement in history was a £1billion agreement between billionaire motoring boss Bernie Eccleston and ex-wife Slavica.
‘Bundles of cash at home’