In these tumultuous times, it’s all too easy to become self-centred and fixated on one’s own problems, but spare a moment please, if you will, to consider the plight of Genesis frontman Phil Collins, who’s having a challenging time in his personal life just now.
The singer has filed papers against his ex-wife, Orianne Cevey, accusing her of an “an armed occupation and takeover” of his $40 million home.
Though Collins and Cevey divorced in 2008, the pair had reconciled in 2016, following Cevey’s split from her second husband, investment banker Charles Mejjati. However, the couple’s second shot at happiness seems to have faltered, with Cevey ‘secretly’ re-marrrying for a third time in August. Upon learning of this, Collins requested that Cevey vacate his Miami property, which his ex has so far refused to do. Lawyers have therefore been employed once more to sort out this awkwardness.
The court papers filed on behalf of Phil Collins accuse Cevey and her new husband of “an armed occupation and takeover” of Collins’s home, alleging that the pair “changed the alarm codes, blocked the surveillance cameras, barred entry by vendors and the real estate agent, and are threatening, implicitly and explicitly, to prolong their unlawful occupation of the property through force.” The documents also claim that the couple have hired “three or four heavily armed individuals” to guard the home. Cevey is also accused of creating a “hostile environment” for staff hired by Collins and, according to the popular TMZ website, “is threatening to release false and embarrassing accusations about [Collins] unless he renegotiates their 2008 divorce settlement.”
That divorce settlement was reported at the time to the biggest in British legal history, with Collins paying $46.68 million as part of the agreement.
In an exclusive statement given to Vanity Fair, Collins’s lawyer Jeffrey D. Fisher says, “We got a letter from [Cevey]’s attorney dated September 20th that was a blatant effort to shakedown Phil and, as a former federal prosecutor, I have zero tolerance for that. So, now, we’re going to fully enforce the law against her.”
A representative for Orianne Cevey said she “has nothing to add at this moment.”
Thoughts and prayers are extended to all concerned at this difficult time.
