BILL SHATNER'S PONY DISTRESS
Divorces wife after talking horses nag him about her training advice -insiders
STAR TREK legend William Shatner is ditching his wife because he believes his beloved horses want him to put her out to pasture, say sources close to the space case.
The aged actor, 88, filed to end his marriage to Elizabeth Shatner earlier this month — 18 years after they tied the knot.
Though he found fame playing Capt. James T. Kirk in the popular sci-fi franchise, in real life Shatner’s hobbies are more down-to-earth. The dedicated rider and avid outdoorsman even wrote the book Spirit of the Horse, celebrating the animals he says “have played an essential role in my life.”
But an insider claims the selfproclaimed horse whisperer thinks he can actually communicate with his steeds, “not through words, but through senses, and he’s telling friends they’ve been upset with Elizabeth for some time!”
Elizabeth, 61, happens to be a horse trainer, but the insider says of Bill’s animals, “They’ve been whispering to him that they’re uncomfortable around her. He’s been noticing they’re acting twitchy whenever she walks by.”
The split means four-times married Bill will boldly go where he’s gone before — divorce court, though sources say the pair, who have no children, signed a prenup before their 2001 courthouse wedding.
Insiders expect the agreement to make for a smooth separation and prevent Elizabeth
from galloping away with a sizable chunk of Bill’s estimated $100 million fortune.
Shatner fell for his most recent bride shortly after the mysterious drowning death of his third wife, model Nerine Kidd, in 1999. He had been previously married to Marcy Lafferty and Gloria Rand, mother of his daughters —
Leslie, 61, Lisabeth, 59, and Melanie, 55.
According to the insider, “Elizabeth told him he was silly to lavish so much attention on the animals. His horses have been a bone of contention between them for years.
“She told him his ‘whispering’ was a load of bull. Bill was tired of being henpecked and decided he’d had enough.”
The tipster says Shatner simply wants to spend the remainder of his days with his equine friends and adds, “He’s convinced his horses would be happier without Elizabeth around, too!”