Last Friday the New York Times ran a story detailing the messy divorce of supermodel Stephanie Seymour and media mogul/art collector Peter Brant. Seymour and Brant, who’ve been married since 1995 and have three children, have apparently become near-fixtures at a Stamford, Connecticut courthouse as they’ve battled over drug tests, jewels, and Warhol paintings since Seymour filed for divorce in March of 2009. Indeed, according to the Times:
Since Ms. Seymour filed for divorce in March 2009, either the Brants or their lawyers had been in court at least five times before, in front of three different judges, battling at each fractious step of this marital dispute.
Seymour and Brant in happier times.
At issue in the divorce? Well, pretty much everything. He claims that she was unfaithful; she charges that he is controlling and put a tracking device on her car. He alleges substance abuse; so does she (they’re both required to take regular drug tests prior to their divorce trial). She says that he took a chandelier and art by Basquiat and Warhol from her bedroom; he says that she took his Warhols and a watch. He accuses her of wrongfully removing $700,000 worth of furniture from their winter estate, and she counters that he changed the locks on their family home in an effort to force to her out.
Don't mess with Stephanie's chandelier.
Seymour and Brant are also battling over their children. Noting that most of the documents regarding the custody dispute are sealed, the Times article focuses mostly on the couple’s glamorous past, and the current legal battle over luxury goods. But, a few details in the story hint at a pretty heated custody dispute as well. The Times, admirably, chooses not to go into much detail about the innocent children caught in the middle of this very public acrimony.
Sounds pretty messy – and it is. But, while Seymour and Brant may be fighting over objects that most people can only gaze upon on museum walls or in a Cartier display case, their conduct in this divorce is not altogether uncommon. Many divorcing couples, no matter what their economic standing, can get caught up in an insidious tit-for-tat squabbling over household items. Spend a morning or two on the family law calendar and more likely than not you’ll have watched at least one couple spar over everything from the washer and drier to the Nintendo Wii.
What can we learn from the Seymour and Brant saga? I think a quote from the article sums the lesson up nicely: “No one falls in love thinking they will end up sparring over sconces.” Even the rich and famous.
Related: Check out our firm’s advice on how to work with your lawyer to resist the temptation to fight your ex over every piece of furniture here.
