Kirsty Bertarelli, a former Miss UK and the writer behind the All Saints No 1 hit “Black Coffee”, has become Britain’s richest divorcee.
Following her split from her billionaire husband, the Italian biotech businessman Ernesto Bertarelli, she has been awarded more than £350m, according to the Daily Mail.
The couple, who were married for 21 years and have three children together, were jointly listed in this year’s Sunday Times Rich List with a fortune of £9.2bn, which made Kirsty the country’s richest woman.
The reported pay-out makes Kirsty the richest British-born divorcee in legal history, with the settlement almost matching the Queen’s estimated worth of £365m.
In the divorce, Kirsty was also given a £52m mansion near Lake Geneva and she owns an £8m chalet in Gstaad, a ski resort in Switzerland.
Ernesto bought her a 314ft-long superyacht which took 200 people to build for her 40th birthday. It cost £100 million and £250,000 just to refuel.
Kirsty was crowned Miss UK in 1988 and co-wrote the pop hit “Black Coffee” for All Saints in 2000.
In 2009, Kirsty released her first single, “Don’t Say”, before bringing out her debut album, Elusive, which entered the Swiss charts in the 20th position.
Speaking in 2018 about her wealth, she said:
I feel terribly fortunate to have such a wonderful husband and fabulous lifestyle. But I’ve always appreciated everything in life. The important thing is always to stay grounded, to keep your feet firmly on the floor. Of course, I get nervous in certain social situations. We’ve met lots of royalty and famous people. That’s part of our life but it’s not the norm.
One of her friends said:
The settlement was more generous than it had to be. They didn’t want a long, drawn-out court case in Switzerland and he wanted to recognise the length of their marriage.
In 2012, her single “Twilight” with trance DJ Armin Van Buuren peaked at the European dance charts for nine weeks.
She has also performed as a support act for Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall.
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