A pound of flesh
With all the media frenzy surrounding the apparent split of Katie Price and Peter André, I couldn’t help but be reminded of another celebrity bust-up (genuinely no pun intended) – that of Sylvester Stallone and Brigitte Nielsen. Beyond being quite bonkers, la Nielsen is still known for her inflated boobs, which were bought for her by her then-doting hubby, Sly.
It led to one of the more bizarre arguments in divorce history, with Stallone’s lawyer arguing a case for recovering the implants he had so generously given her. Rather like Shylock trying to claim his pound of flesh, only this time we were talking silicone. I can’t help but think the bard would have been quite amused at the spectacle, actually. Beyond the obvious question of what on earth Sly’d have done with the things once he’d got them – stress balls? travel pillow? – the judge decided that this kind of thing was not on and he lost that battle in the war that was their divorce.
But the Price/André matter seems to be of interest to more than the gossip-starved. It turns out our man Peter was so in love he insisted on signing a pre-nup. Now, it’s easy to insist on a pre-nup when you know it’s not legally binding, and I’m sure Katie can afford the £6m if the newspaper estimates of her fortune are correct. So far so boring.
Yet if this does lead to a divorce and is not, as some have suggested, just another publicity stunt, then Katie and Peter may actually end up setting legal precedent. If André decides to challenge the pre-nup and go for a bigger settlement, Price may try to enforce the document and, if successful, would establish the legal validity of pre-nuptial agreements in this country.
I know a number of my lawyer friends are watching this case closely. However much we may love to hate the prevailing celeb culture, though, this is one that could affect a great many of us, moving forward. Who knew?
