‘Shark’ star’s a faux stud

“SHARK Tank” judge Daymond John made a startling confession to gallerist Charles Saffati at the unveiling of his portrait by photographer Udo Spreitzenbarth at Carlton Fine Arts last week, we hear.

Spies said that when Saffati complimented the fashion entrepreneur on his pair of diamond stud earrings, John laughed and said, “They’re fake. The real ones are in my safe.”

Our source said that John explained why he doesn’t wear the real bling: “Because of what’s going on in the city right now, I don’t want to risk wearing them in the streets.”

Our source added that, “He then proceeded to tell the backstory of the studs, saying, ‘These studs were carved out of my former wife’s 12-carat engagement ring,’ from when we broke up.”

Turns out that after his first marriage ended years ago, the “Shark Tank” entrepreneur and FUBU founder cut the diamond ring in half and created two 4-carat diamond studs for himself, we hear.

But luckily the exes are now friendly and speak regularly, we hear.

Either way, John was wearing the earrings on TV so often after his split that his show’s producers liked them so much and they said he had to keep “wearing the same earrings for continuity.” “So I wear the fakes,” John admitted.

The tale of the gems had everyone, including John, laughing at the gallery.

John has been largely private about his first marriage, and has said it ended in part because of his own business success. He said of his first wife in a CNBC interview, “[She] literally saw me on TV more than she saw me in person, because I was in commercials all the time and other than that I was hanging out . . . I was so concentrated on work. Many of us who live with our families don’t see our families.”

The fashion maven later popped the question to longtime girlfriend Heather Taras on the set of his ABC show and they married in 2018.