My husband made me sign £11m pre-nup... as we lay in hotel bed
A MULTI- millionaire racing driver asked his fiancee to sign a pre-nuptial agreement – as they ‘relaxed in bed’ on a romantic break to Niagara Falls.
Retired IndyCar champion Kenny Brack, 52, and his estranged wife Anita, 51, are locked in divorce battle over £11million worth of marital assets.
The couple had agreed three prenups in different countries as his career took them around the globe.
Now Mrs Brack is asking the Court of Appeal to overturn a High Court decision two years ago allowing her husband to keep the bulk of the family fortune, claiming the agreements were ‘unfair’.
Mr Brack produced the first – shortly before they wed in 2000 – while the couple were ‘lying in bed, relaxing’ at a hotel in Niagara, Canada, his ex-partner told a hearing.
The pair went on to raise their two children in a £3million fivebedroom country home with a swimming pool near Cookham, Berkshire. When the couple, originally from Sweden, split after 15 years of marriage, Mrs Brack claimed half the family’s £11million wealth should be hers. But a divorce judge rejected her claim for an equal share, concluding his hands were tied because she had signed the pre-nups in Canada, the US and Sweden willingly. She was left with just £560,000.
Mr Brack had told Mr Justice Francis he was ‘not bothered’ about marrying her and would have refused to do so had she not agreed to sign. Yesterday Patrick Chamberlayne QC, for Mrs Brack, challenged the judge’s ruling, telling the Court of Appeal he ‘made crucial errors of law’ .
A hearing about splitting the family money came before Mr Justice Francis in the Family Court in December 2016, who pointed to a diary entry made by the wife after signing the first pre-nup while they were engaged. She wrote: ‘Vacation. Cosied up in the morning. Went to Niagara Falls. Back to the hotel and had a massage and pedicure! Was at hotel and watched a video. Signed the marriage papers.’
But while the judge found Mr Brack ‘cold’ and ‘mean-spirited’, he concluded the entries were not ‘musings of a person who was shocked by the request that she sign a pre-nuptial agreement.’
The judge ordered the £3million family house to be sold, with Mrs Brack getting half of the £2million equity as it was in both their names. But her debts – including money owed to her husband – left her with just £560,000, compared with more than £10million for Mr Brack. The husband was also ordered to provide a £2million housing fund for his wife and children, as well as £95,000 a year for child maintenance.
Yesterday Mr Chamberlayne told three appeal court judges that new email evidence would prove Mrs Brack didn’t understand what she agreeing to.
Martin Pointer QC, for Mr Brack, argued that Mr Justice Francis’s ruling was correct.
The hearing continues.