PETRA & JAMES ‘ LIVED ON SEPARATE FLOORS FOR SEVEN YEARS’
SLEEPING IN SEPARATE BEDS is often the first sign of a marriage in peril. But according to sources, Petra Ecclestone, 28, and her soon-to-be-exhusband James Stunt, 35, took it a step further, spending much of their relationship living on separate floors.
An insider tells Grazia that the tempestuous couple – currently at loggerheads as they battle out what’s been branded the ‘most expensive divorce in history’ – seldom shared the same bedroom. Instead, businessman James had an entire floor of their £100m Chelsea mansion to himself and kept it under lock and key.
The source says, ‘When the couple bought the property in 2010, they commissioned huge renovations, which included a two-storey basement. Over time, the area became used solely by James, who put in a makeshift bar and turned the pool area and cinema into a “party floor”. It had its own entrance, which Petra didn’t have a key to, and was professionally soundproofed at a cost of £200,000. He’d often be entertaining until 6am while Petra and the children (Lavinia, four, and two-year-old twins James and Andrew) slept. As they would get up in the morning, he’d just be going to sleep. He would schedule “Petra hours” in his diary, via his PA, when he wanted to see her.’
The source added, ‘Since she kicked him out, she has fired all of his staff and changed the locks and passcodes. Now she can’t believe that she put up with his antics for so long.’
Petra filed for divorce in June, when police were called to their house after a furious bust-up. James has previously been accused of threatening to ‘blow Petra’s head off’ and causing her to cower in a cupboard, though he denies these claims.
Last week, it was reported that he wants to rip up the couple’s £16m pre-nup contract in a bid to get a bigger payout from his estranged wife.