KATE’S PRE-NUP HELL!
The radio star is set to lose more than just her husband if her marriage ends
Kate Ritchie was nowhere to be seen when her estranged husband Stuart Webb fronted up to Sydney’s Waverley Court and was ordered to have an alcohol interlock device fitted to his car after being charged with drink driving for the fifth time this year.
The much-loved actress, 41, who first hit our screens at the age of eight as Sally Fletcher in Home And Away, is apparently struggling to come to terms with Stuart’s list of shocking transgressions.
Now friends fear things are only going to get worse for the star who could face losing everything she’s spent years working so hard for.
“Kate and Stu don’t have a pre-nup in place,” reveals a family insider. “It was something that was a very contentious subject before they tied the knot.”
According to the friend, Kate’s mother Heather had grave concerns about her successful daughter marrying the former football player, 39, in 2010 without any legal contracts in place to protect her wealth and tried to tell her so, but Kate refused to entertain the idea. “Heather was very worried about keeping Kate’s fortune safe,” says the friend.
“She had her best interests at heart like any mother would but Kate was caught up in the romance of the wedding – she loved Stu and thought they would be together forever.” And while at the time of their blossoming romance Kate was a household name, it’s since then that her career has gone from strength to strength, leading the mother-of-one to invest wisely.
“Kate has a large property portfolio that includes the family home in Randwick, a huge homestead in the country as well as a swanky city apartment,” says the friend. “Add that to all of the endorsements that she does these days – from QV to Jockey underwear – and her rumoured $1.2 million radio gig, plus she wrote those kids’ books, it all adds up. She has to be worth close to $10 million.” Stuart, on the other hand, retrained as a chef shortly after his sporting career ended, working briefly at a restaurant in Coogee before quitting.
‘Her mum and dad washed their hands of Stuart a long time ago’
Nine years on and Kate’s mum’s warning is at the forefront of her mind as she considers her options. “Everyone is desperate for Kate to call it quits with Stuart, and no one more so than her own family,” reveals the friend. “Her mum and dad washed their hands of Stuart a long time ago, but no one can get through to Kate.”
Now, friends hope the radio host takes the holiday break to think about her future
– and do everything she can to safeguard herself.