New details have emerged about the couple in the middle of an acrimonious divorce that is being called New York City’s ‘nastiest’ split with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line.
David Mugrabi, the 47-year-old art mogul whose family owns a collection valued at $5billion, is in the midst of a bitter divorce from his wife, Libbie, 39.
During Fourth of July weekend, Libbie accused a houseguest of sleeping with her husband after the woman, David, and five other guests went skinny-dipping in the pool following a dinner party.
The houseguest, who has not been named but knew the Mugrabis from the world of art, said: ‘It was fun. It was nothing sexual. As if we were teenagers.’
David Mugrabi, the 47-year-old art mogul whose family owns a collection valued at $5billion, is in the midst of a bitter divorce from his wife, Libbie, 39
Libbie Mugrabi (above) videotaped a confrontation she had with a house guest whom she suspected of sleeping with her husband after an evening of skinny-dipping in the pool
‘The next morning, everyone was hung over. We were saying, ‘Wow, that was crazy last night’,’ she told the New York Post.
As the houseguest was packing her belongings, Libbie barged into her room.
‘She said, ‘I am Mrs. Mugrabi’,’ the houseguest said.
‘I said, ‘I know you’re Mrs. Mugrabi. I’m not trying to be Mrs. Mugrabi’.’
Libbie was standing alongside her nanny, who was videotaping the confrontation on her cell phone.
She began to suspect the housewife was sleeping with her husband even though she insisted nothing sexual happened during the night swim.
‘I honestly think she used me as a tool.. to get leverage in [her] divorce,’ said the houseguest.
‘She was like, ‘What’s your relationship [with my husband]?’
‘She was putting words in my mouth, and I was really scared because she started to threaten me with my job and a community of collectors I work with.’
The drama has been playing out in public at Manhattan Supreme Court, where divorce proceedings began in September.
Libbie has accused David of physically assaulting her when he caught her trying to move a $500,000 Keith Haring sculpture out of their home.
Meanwhile, it was learned that David handed over ownership of the couple’s $72million Upper East Side townhouse to a limited liability company controlled by his older brother, Alberto.
David handed over ownership of the couple’s $72million Upper East Side townhouse to a limited liability company controlled by his older brother, Alberto. Libbie sued David and his family, claiming that she’s entitled to part ownership of the property (seen above)
The couple bought the house n 2013 for $15million. They then invested $57million in renovating it.
Libbie was blindsided when she found out. She sued her husband, his brother, Alberto, and the family trust for undertaking a ‘fraudulent scheme to deprive her of marital interest in the home.’
‘She had no idea,’ said a family friend.
‘She was fixing the house up for five years, every day, working on that townhouse. It was just a sneaky maneuver. That was her home.’
Libbie wants the family to pay her back the $57million that she says came from joint marital accounts to renovate the East 82nd Street property.
The Mugrabi family is said to own the largest collection of works by Andy Warhol.
The question of who owns the pieces of art is another major bone of contention in the divorce.
In July, as Libbie was dining at a Manhattan restaurant with her sister and a friend, she was notified that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of artwork that was hanging in the couple’s home in the Hamptons was being removed.
‘[Libbie] said, ‘What do you mean everything’s gone?’ and she started to grab her things and she kept saying, ‘I don’t understand, I don’t understand’,’ Lauren Amar, a friend of Libbie’s, testified in court.
‘We asked if everything was okay and she said, ‘No,’ and proceeded to say that all of her artwork was gone, and she left.’
Libbie went to her home on the Upper East Side, lied down on the couch, and started crying, according to Amar.
The couple is seen above in New York City in April. They have been married 14 years
‘This is real; this divorce is clearly happening,’ Libbie told Amar.
‘I don’t know how I’m going to support myself or pay an attorney. He’s taken everything out of the house.’
Amar testified that Libbie’s sister advised that she take whatever valuable items there were from the apartment.
When David came home, he saw Libbie take the Haring sculpture.
‘You’re taking my things!’ David is alleged to have shouted at her.
Libbie alleges that David pushed her to the floor. She then asked her sister, Mia Rowe, to dial 911.
According to Amar, David shoved Libbie out of the apartment. He then called his estranged wife, her sister, and her friend ‘gold diggers’ and ‘lowlifes.’
The Mugrabis are also accusing each other of infidelity.
While Libbie thought her husband was sleeping with a houseguest, there were also rumors that David kept a 26-year-old mistress, according to the Jewish Voice.
Meanwhile, Libbie herself was suspected by David of cheating.
The couple owns a home in the Hamptons, which was purchased in 2007 for $3.75 million and is now worth $9 million
She has reportedly been seen around town with advertising executive Donny Deutsch.
Libbie denied to the Post that there was anything romantic going on.
‘We’re friends, at best,’ she said.
‘We’re not even friends.
‘I’ve never had an affair on my husband. I don’t believe in adultery. I’m a religious Jew.’
A spokesperson for Deutsch also denied there was a romance.
‘Mr. Deutsch has been friends with Ms. Mugrabi for a long time,’ the spokesperson said.
‘They’ve never had any other kind of relationship.’
A family friend said: ‘It’s a friendship. [Libbie and Deutsch] never had sex and that is it.
‘And they never had an affair, although David Mugrabi would like to think they did.’
It will be a very expensive termination for Mugrabi, who has been married to Libbie for 13 years and did not have a prenup.
She has stated in court papers that the pair’s annual spending was well over $3 million.
Court records show that Mugrabi filed for divorce, and soon after submitting his filing a judge ordered him to pay $25,000 to his wife each month for support while also paying for his two children’s private school tuition.
Libbie has accused David of physically assaulting her when he caught her trying to move a $500,000 Keith Haring sculpture (above) out of their home. The sculpture weighs 25 pounds
The couple owns a home in the Hamptons, which was purchased in 2007 for $3.75 million.
It features a large main home, swimming pool, tennis court and guest house in the hamlet of Sag Harbor, and is less than a mile away from the estate of Matt Lauer, which the disgraced newsman has been desperately trying to sell for over a year.
And the family purchased a three-bedroom condo on the Upper East Side in 2014 that was valued at $4 million, but paid just $180,000 according to city property records.
That is where Mugrabi is now staying while Libbie has spent most of her time since the split in the couple’s Hamptons home.