Westchester Divorce Blog

A playwright who made an international spectacle of her husband’s alleged impotence on YouTube acted in a “cruel and inhuman” manner toward her spouse, a Manhattan judge has ruled.

In granting a divorce to Philip J. Smith, Acting Supreme Court Justice Harold B. Beeler found that Tricia Walsh-Smith’s “exposure” of his private life caused him “enormous mental distress.” While Ms. Walsh-Smith might never “in her wildest dreams” have anticipated that her “public rant” against Mr. Smith, 76, president of the Shubert Foundation, and his daughters would become a media sensation, she nonetheless “persisted in exploiting its popularity,” the judge said.

Ms. Walsh-Smith not only made three more videos to draw attention to her plight, but appeared numerous times on a tabloid TV program to humiliate and “pressure” her husband into giving her a more lucrative financial settlement, the judge noted.

“To this day,” he wrote, Mr. Smith, who has a heart condition and “simply wanted to be left alone,” “is uncertain whether, in defendant’s words a ‘big hammer’ will fall on him, exposing even more embarrassing details of his personal life.” Given Ms. Walsh-Smith’s YouTube postings and “her exploitation thereof in the media circus” that ensued, “there is no doubt that her conduct, taken in its totality, has now so endangered the plaintiff’s physical or mental well-being as to render it unsafe or improper for him to cohabit with the defendant,” the judge concluded in Smith v. Walsh-Smith, 311784/07.

Original Source: New York Law Journal (Noeleen G. Walder), July 22, 2008  

July 22nd 2008 Posted to Celebrity Divorce
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This sure seems to be the Summer of Discontent in celebrity households.  In addition to the divorce sagas of Christie Brinkley and Bill Murray that have played out in the tabloids this summer, Alex Rodriguez is now heading for divorce court, Hulk Hogan’s divorce continues to drag on, and a well-known CBS reporter has been named as the “other woman” in a divorce.

Cynthia Rodriguez, wife of New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has filed for divorce, claiming emotional abandonment of her and of the couple’s children.

The couple’s marriage of five years collapsed amid reports of a new relationship between Alex Rodriguez and 49-year-old pop singer Madonna.

The saga was played out in both the sports pages and gossip magazines and seemed to take its toll on Cynthia Rodriguez.  According to her petition, the couple’s marriage is “irretrievably broken” due to the extramarital affairs and other marital misconduct of “A-Rod.”

The petition for dissolution of marriage was filed in the family division of the Circuit Court of Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Richard Rubenstein, a spokesman for the MLB star, declined to address the infidelity allegations, saying that it was a matter to be brought up in court.

Cynthia Rodriguez has filed for primary custody of 3-year-old Nathasha and 2-month-old Ella, the couple’s two children, in addition to demanding child support and alimony.

Meantime, the divorce attorneys of Terry Bollea, better known as former professional wrestler “Hulk Hogan,” and his wife Linda are scheduled to return to court in Clearwater, Florida.

A judge has called for a hearing on the morning of July 15 in order to hear from attorneys on various issues concerning the divorce of Hulk and Linda, who have been married for 24 years.

Hogan, 54, and his family starred in “Hogan Knows Best,” a reality show on VH1.

The couple’s son, Nick Bollea, is currently serving an eight-month prison sentence after he pleaded no contest to causing a crash that resulted in his best friend sustaining serious personal injuries.

Lara Logan, a former reporter in Iraq for CBS suddenly found herself on the front page of the tabloids in New York as the “other woman” in a bitter divorce in Texas.  She also received more news on July 8: she’s pregnant.

Logan, 37, says that the baby’s father is Joseph Burkett, a federal contractor she met during her time in Baghdad.  He and his wife, who resides in Texas with their 3-year-old daughter, are currently separated.  Logan is also going through her own divorce proceeding, expected to be finalized within the coming weeks.

July 14th 2008 Posted to Celebrity Divorce
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A court-appointed psychiatrist’s report yet to be introduced in the sensational Christie Brinkley-Peter Cook divorce trial will reveal that Brinkley is consumed by rage, Cook’s attorney said late last week in a television interview.  But as lawyers for the two sides traded charges in exclusive TODAY interviews, the supermodel’s attorney said that the report also says that Brinkley should get primary custody of the couple’s two children.

The psychiatrist “has … found that Christie is angered and she’s going to have to overcome her anger,” Cook’s attorney, Norman Sheresky, told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira before heading to court for the second day of testimony in the salacious trial that began Wednesday.

Sheresky said that the psychiatrist also determined that testimony about Cook’s $3,000-a-month appetite for Internet porn should be “out of the case,” and that “Peter is a wonderful father. He should have a relationship with the children, and Christie Brinkley should not interfere with it.”

But in a separate interview that followed directly on TODAY, Brinkley’s attorney, Bob Cohen, said his adversary left out an important element in the report. “The court psychiatrist found that Christie should be the custodial parent,” he told Vieira. “But being the custodial parent doesn’t mean Peter doesn’t get to see the children. He’s going to get to see the children. He has seen the children. He will continue to see the children.”

See the interview with the two lawyers here.

Cook sought to keep the salacious trial private, but Brinkley fought to make open to the public and the media. Sheresky said that Brinkley is driven by anger and that her determination to air the couple’s dirty laundry will ultimately harm their children.

I do believe that this trial offers at least two important lessons for everyone facing divorce in New York:

1.            Custody trials are nasty affairs, not only for celebrities, but also for anyone else going through a divorce.  They rip families apart and should be avoided, if at all possible, for the sake of the children. Don’t be shortsighted.  You have to co-parent with your spouse once the case is over.  Think of the years to come – the graduations, weddings, Holidays, and grandchildren in your family’s future.  Both Cook and Brinkley have talented, experienced counsel.  This case could and should have settled quietly out of court.

2.            There is a difference between “custody” and “visitation.”  The fact that Christie Brinkley is asking the Court for sole custody does not mean that she wants to keep Peter Cook from seeing the children.  This misconception has been widely reported in the media and is being perpetuated by the Cook camp.  Sole legal custody simply means that, should she win, Brinkley will have the right to make important decisions on the children’s behalf with regard to their medical care, education, religious upbringing, and general welfare.  But part and parcel of any custody order of the Court will be a parental access schedule granting the non-custodial parent frequent and meaningful access time with the children. 

July 07th 2008 Posted to Celebrity Divorce, Custody and Visitation, Uncategorized
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Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook’s upcoming divorce trial will remain open to the public, a New York judge ruled recently.

Acting State Supreme Court Judge Mark D. Cohen said in a five-page decision that he is keeping the trial open because “open courtrooms, in general and in divorce actions, may provide a basis for societal education.”  He added: “The required high burden of compelling reasons to close the courtroom has not been met.”

The ruling goes against a motion brought by the attorney for the children and supported by Cook.  Attorney Theresa Mari, on behalf of the children, argued that some of the evidence revealed at trial could damage her two clients – Jack, 12 and Sailor, 9.

One cannot help but wonder:  Does the public’s insatiable appetite for celebrity gossip really outweigh Jack and Sailor’s right to be spared the tawdry details of their parents’ marital troubles?  And, if it does, what does that say of the principles we value as a society?  

The trial is the result of a two-year legal battle between Brinkley (54) and Cook (49).  Custody, visitation rights, and child support of Sailor and Jack will be the central issues of the trial.  Jack is Brinkley’s son from her previous marriage to Richard Taubman.  Cook adopted Jack.

Brinkley has been married four times, and also has a 22-year-old daughter Alexa Ray Joel, whose father is Billy Joel.

Brinkley filed for divorce from Cook in July of 2006 after 10 years of marriage, alleging infidelity with his 18-year-old assistant, Diana Bianchi.

June 25th 2008 Posted to Celebrity Divorce
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Robin Williams and his estranged wife Marsha Garces Williams have pledged to be “honest, cooperative and respectful” during their divorce proceedings, according to court papers released in May.

The couple signed an agreement spelling out their goals, including promises to try to avoid courtroom clashes, and to keep their children’s interests at the forefront, say the papers filed in San Francisco Superior Court.

“We will strive to be honest, cooperative and respectful as we work in this process to achieve the future well being of our families,” says the agreement.  “We commit ourselves to the collaborative law process and agree to seek a positive way to resolve our differences justly and equitably.” 

Williams, 56, and Garces, 51, filed for divorce in March after 19 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple has two children – Zelda, 18, and Cody, 16.

Recently, Zelda to People Magazine, “I just want my parents to be happy.”

Maybe there is a lesson here for, Alec Baldwin, Christy Brinkley, and Bill Murray . . .  

Original Source: People.com 

June 20th 2008 Posted to Celebrity Divorce
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Jennifer Murray, entertainer Bill Murray’s wife of 11 years, has filed for divorce, alleging that he was abusive and is addicted to marijuana and alcohol.

On May 12^th, Jennifer Butler Murray filed papers in Charleston County, South Carolina.  She and the couple’s four children live together in a home she owns on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina.  The suit also alleges frequent abandonment.

The couple signed a pre-nuptial agreement before their marriage in 1997.  It was filed as an exhibit with the divorce papers.  As part of this pre-nup, both parties waived their right to alimony or support in case of a break-up.  However, Murray agreed that in the event of divorce, he would pay his wife $7 million within 60 days of the final divorce decree.

According to the complaint, Murray would allegedly frequently leave the family, without informing his wife, to engage in public and private altercations and sexual liaisons.

The suit also claims that Murray physically abused his wife, specifically citing a November incident in which he struck her in the face and said that she had been “lucky he didn’t kill her.”

Closer to home, another celebrity divorce is coming to a head.  Supermodel Christie Brinckley and her fourth husband, Peter Cook, will go to trial in Suffolk County, Long Island, on July 2^nd, to fight over child custody and finances.  Given the charged atmosphere and accusations flying back and forth at the preliminary court appearances, this trial promises to provide lots of fodder for the gossip media.

Original Source:  CNN.com, May 29, 2008 

June 12th 2008 Posted to Celebrity Divorce
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