August 23, 2010: Not exactly a model divorce

Supermodel Stephanie Seymour's divorce gets nasty.

by Jeffrey Cottrill

Once again, the rich and beautiful are discovering that wealth and beauty don't necessarily lead to a happy, long-lasting marriage.

Former Victoria's Secret model Stephanie Seymour has been locked in a heated divorce battle with billionaire tycoon Peter Brant for 17 months now, and the case is just getting nastier. While Seymour, 41, contends that Brant was too domineering in the marriage and that he's still harassing and insulting her, Brant counters that Seymour has a serious drug problem, has had affairs and is an unfit parent.

Seymour filed for divorce in March 2009. They are fighting over custody of their three children: Peter II, 16; Harry, 13; and Lily Margaret, six.

Among the couple's more specific accusations against each other: Brant claims that Seymour has interfered with her own urine tests, in order to hide her alleged addictions to alcohol and drugs, and that she has a $257,000-a-month shopping habit; Seymour accuses Brant of Parental Alienation against her and of firing staff from their household without notifying her first.

Brant, 63, and Seymour married in Paris in July 1995. They began dating shortly after she had broken up with Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose; that split also was rife with antagonism, including accusations by Rose of affairs, physical assault, emotional abuse, and the withholding of about $100,000 in jewelry. Seymour's first marriage was to guitarist Tommy Andrews, from 1989 to 1990; she has a 19-year-old son from that relationship. Prior to Brant, she was also romantically linked to Warren Beatty and Charlie Sheen.

This is Brant's second divorce as well. He has five adult children from his first wife, as well as four grandchildren. Brant is the owner of White Birch Paper Company and Brant Publications; he is also a renowned art collector, movie producer, and polo player and breeder.

Stephanie Seymour began her modeling career at the age of 14. She has appeared on hundreds of magazine covers, including Vogue, and posed for Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue and Playboy. She portrayed painter Helen Frankenthaler in the Jackson Pollock biopic Pollock (produced by Brant) and had a role in an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

• Forgive Him... for Now
• Splitting
• An Inflexible Ex: You and the children

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