Did David Geffen and Donovan Michael’s divorce turn nasty over this one prized asset?
The acrimonious divorce proceedings between billionaire David Geffen and former model Donovan Michaels continue.
Mark
The acrimonious divorce proceedings between billionaire David Geffen and former model Donovan Michaels continue.
The Wall Street Journal has run a deep dive into the bitter fallout between the two men and the ongoing legal drama. Regular readers will know that they married in 2023 without a pre-nup.
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David Geffen and Donovan Michaels married in 2023 without a prenup.
Geffen, then in his late 70s, met Michaels, then in his early 20s, in late 2016 via a website called SeekingArrangements.com. Their first encounter was transactional—Geffen paid $10,000 for the date—but they appear to have hit things off and continued to see each other.
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In 2021, Geffen shared a (now deleted) photo of himself with Michaels aboard his superyacht, Rising Sun.
Hollywood mogul David Geffin has married his boyfriend in a private ceremony.
Geffen, 80, is worth $9.14 billion, says Forbes, and regarded as a creative genius who can “see around corners.”
His new spouse, Donovan Michaels, is 30.
AKSARBENT does not opine, it merely reports. pic.twitter.com/hZhK8OcLFK— ＡＫＳＡＲＢＥＮＴ (@aksarbent) March 16, 2023
Marriage and subsequent “irreconcilable differences”
They married in a private ceremony in Beverley Hills in March 2023. The men split in February of this year, and Geffen filed for divorce in May, citing “irreconcilable differences”.
Michaels then filed a lawsuit against his husband, alleging breach of an “oral contract” in which Geffen promised lifelong financial support and sharing of assets. The filing includes serious allegations of exploitation, forced cosmetic procedures, drug coercion, eviction, and financial abandonment.
Geffen fired a lawsuit back. It denied all of Michael’s claims, describing them as sensational fabrications and “salacious lies.” His legal team asserts that no such contract existed.
The Wall Street Journal reports that soon after the meeting, Geffen asked Michaels to obtain a passport. This would enable him to join Geffen more often aboard his aforementioned, $590 million yacht.
The floating palace has a crew of 45.
According to documents seen by the WSJ, Michaels claims Geffen promised to give him the yacht while they were married.
The outlet also spoke to an unnamed source who backed up Michaels’ claim that a conversation about the yacht occurred. They say that Michaels became furious when he learned Geffen did not, in fact, plan to give him the luxury cruiser.
According to Michaels, Geffen said the younger man wouldn’t want such a “money suck.”
Michaels lawsuit also claims that while Geffen was celebrating aboard his superyacht in Venice in June — hosting a ritzy gathering ahead of the Jeff Bezos–Lauren Sanchez wedding — he ordered Michaels to “immediately vacate” their New York home. This would effectively make Michaels homeless.
The suit claims this would occur “at the very same time, Geffen was decadently and extravagantly partying and dancing the night away in Venice, Italy with the other .0001% of the wealthiest people on the planet.”
Geffen denies all of Michaels claims
Geffen’s lawyers have denied all these claims. Geffen says Michaels began to take advantage of his “good nature and generosity.” His counter lawsuit says Michaels spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on OnlyF*ns subscriptions and male escorts in the final months of their marriage. Geffen alleges his husband was also enjoying “extensive relationships with numerous other people.”
Geffen’s countersuit, filed earlier this month, says Michaels is still living in one of the media mogul’s New York apartments for free and receiving monthly payments from his soon-to-be-ex husband. It’s an apartment Geffen reportedly, originally bought for his housekeeper.
An attorney for Geffen also told the WSJ that Michaels’ claims about Geffen constantly using him for physical gratification are untrue.
“The couple never spent a night in the same bed, let alone the same room.”
As for giving Michaels the yacht or other assets, the attorney said, “Simply put, there were no promises.”
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