An unfaithful wife who won a £90million divorce settlement is now fighting her ‘gold-digger’ ex-lover in court for more than £20million of assets.
Mandy Gray and Hamish Hurley travelled the world during an intense, six-year relationship.
But the pair are now at war over company shares, an Italian villa and four supercars acquired during their time together.
Miss Gray, 50, says she is the sole owner of the assets, which also include other properties around the world but Mr Hurley, 46, insists they are ‘jointly owned’
Miss Gray was previously married to fellow American Randy Work, a financier
The High Court this week heard that the vehicles, said to be worth ‘a good few million’, include a Ferrari and a £1million Pagani.
Miss Gray, 50, says she is the sole owner of the assets, which also include other properties around the world, but Mr Hurley, 46, insists they are ‘jointly owned’.
On Thursday, Jonathan Cohen QC, one of a number of lawyers said to be representing Miss Gray, said his client alone financed the purchase of the assets, and that she never intended to ‘gift’ them to Mr Hurley.
He alleged in court papers that Mr Hurley spent £7million of Miss Gray’s money on a failed internet marketing business, adding: ‘On Miss Gray’s case, she was no more than Hurley’s vehicle for his enrichment and he was the archetypal gold digger, par excellence.’
The QC accused Mr Hurley of planning to use his lover ‘as a means to get his ‘wish list’ of assets’, saying he had already earmarked the purchase of a Ferrari 458 Speciale and a Pagani Huayra Coupe before the pair’s relationship began.
The QC accused Mr Hurley of planning to use his lover ‘as a means to get his ‘wish list’ of assets’,including a Ferrari 458 Speciale (above)
Miss Gray was previously married to fellow American Randy Work, a financier. When the couple, who had two children, separated in 2013 they had amassed a £180million fortune during their 18-year marriage.
Miss Gray had now ‘recast the entirety of their relationship’, he said, wrongly presenting Mr Hurley as ‘manipulative and controlling’
A High Court hearing in 2015 heard the marriage foundered after Miss Gray began an affair with their personal physiotherapist.
Mr Work, now 52, was ordered to pay his estranged wife half of their fortune after hearing how she gave up her career to move with him to Tokyo before later becoming ‘homemaker’ in the UK.
Mr Work appealed against the decision but in 2017 the Court of Appeal rejected his claim that he was a financial ‘genius’ who deserved a greater share of the marital spoils.
This week’s High Court hearing was told that Miss Gray and Mr Hurley ‘led an international lifestyle’ after meeting at an exclusive private member’s health club in Chelsea where he was a nutritionist and physiotherapist.
But Mr Hurley was alleged to have subjected Miss Gray to emotional and physical abuse throughout their relationship – a claim he vehemently denies.
‘As a result of his domineering conduct, and by his design, a number of very valuable assets, all bought with Gray’s money – for he had none – are presently registered in whole or part in Hurley’s name or held by companies which he controls,’ said Mr Cohen.
He said even before their romance, which ended this year, Mr Hurley had produced ‘lists of prestige assets he wanted to obtain but which he could never afford on his own salary’.
But Mr Hurley’s QC, James Bailey, said his client had been in an ‘intense, intimate, loving, consensual and collaborative’ relationship with Miss Gray, and said the pair had exchanged 40,000 social media messages during their time together which he cited as evidence of their previous commitment.
Among the other assets in Mr Hurley’s purported wish list was a Pagani Huayra (above)
Miss Gray had now ‘recast the entirety of their relationship’, he said, wrongly presenting Mr Hurley as ‘manipulative and controlling’.
Mr Hurley had returned home to his native New Zealand to live with his parents after Miss Gray ended their relationship, he said.
But during their time together they bought property around the world, with Miss Gray ‘providing the funds for their joint life together – building for their future’.
Mr Bailey added: ‘Now she has changed her mind about Hamish, she wants it all back.’
The hearing was to consider whether the dispute should be dealt with by the New Zealand or English courts, and whether Miss Gray should be granted ‘freezing’ orders safeguarding certain assets.
Mr Bailey told judge Brian Rawlings that while Miss Gray’s accusations may cast his client in a bad light, ‘you have not yet heard the other side of the story which is nothing short of remarkable.’
Mr Hurley’s QC said he was fighting his case ‘on a shoestring’ and needed time to raise more funds.
He was completely ‘outgunned’ by Miss Gray, said Mr Bailey, claiming: ‘It should be noted at the outset that Mandy’s preferred approach to litigation is to use sheer force to try to bully her way to the desired outcome.’
The case was adjourned to allow Mr Hurley more time to prepare his case.