It’s not just another day in paradise for Phil Collins. The Genesis singer’s ex-wife has lifted the lid on the couple’s miserable existence together, saying it was like being “trapped in a golden cage”.
Orianne Bates, who married, divorced then reunited with the musician, claims the hitmaker slid into an alcohol-sodden depression that, last year, ultimately cost their relationship.
“I felt I was trapped in a golden cage,” says Orianne of the $47 million luxury mansion in Florida she shared with her ex-husband. “You have a beautiful view, but that is all you have. You have no love.”
Now, after a bitter split during which Orianne moved another man into the “cage” she was, at the time, still sharing with Phil, all the pair have to look forward to is a future day in court.
The couple first met when Orianne worked as Phil’s translator during a tour of Switzerland. Five years later, in 1999, they wed and had two sons, Nicholas, now 19, and Matthew, 16.
But the honeymoon didn’t last. Seven years later, they split and in 2008 the Something in the Air singer forked out $66 million to Orianne in one of the biggest showbiz divorce settlements to date.
The jewellery designer went on to tie the knot with investment banker Charles Mejjati and when, in 2016, that marriage also failed, she fell right back into Phil’s arms.
This story is from the April 26, 2021 edition of New Zealand Woman's Weekly.
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This story is from the April 26, 2021 edition of New Zealand Woman's Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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