When you’ve got a lifestyle like the Countess Von Schtupp, you’ve got a lifestyle- that’s all there is to it:
In a bitter, high-stakes divorce battle in Connecticut, a Swedish countess is demanding $100 million from her husband, a former CEO. Marie Douglas-David, 36, argued she needs more than $50,000 a week to maintain her lavish lifestyle.
Douglas-David, a former investment banker, married George David, 67, in 2002. David is the former CEO of United Technologies Corp., and is still chairman of the company. He has an estimated net worth of $329 million.
The New York Post reported Wednesday that David claimed his wife would frequently drag him into bed against his will. “I recall one instance when she was very forceful, and I declined, and she exploded,” he insisted during day four of the divorce trial.
“I’m just very sad that he’s being that dishonest,” his wife told The Post. “I trusted my husband.”
Robert Cohen, one of her lawyers, said that his client weighs 120 pounds soaking wet and that “the notion that she could be raping a 226-pound man who’s 6-foot-3 is beyond the pale.
The countess filed court papers showing she has more than $53,800 in weekly expenses — more than most American families make in a year — including maintaining a Park Avenue apartment and three residences in Sweden.
Her weekly expenses also include $700 for limousine service, $4,500 for clothes, $1,000 for hair and skin treatments, $1,500 for restaurants and entertainment, and $8,000 for travel.
The two started having marital trouble in 2004, accusing each other of extramarital affairs. Douglas-David claims her husband was sexually controlling and mocked her for not getting pregnant, while he says she lied about a miscarriage, NBC reported on the ‘Today’ show Tuesday.
Douglas-David signed a postnuptial agreement in October 2005 that would give her $38 million if they divorced, NBC reported. She wants that agreement invalidated, saying she was coerced into signing. She claimed her husband preyed on her fears of being divorced and childless.
Invalidating the contract may prove difficult, NBC legal analyst Dan Abrams said on ‘Today.’ “In a marriage where there’s no children involved, that is going to be a very tough argument to make.”