The heir to the throne of all-natural frozen foods giant Dr. Praeger left his kids at home with a nanny to breach coronavirus lockdown orders and party for seven-hours in the Hamptons, his estranged wife has claimed in court.
Larry Praeger – the son of late Dr. Praeger’s Purely Sensible Foods co-founder Peter Praeger – had been staying with his three kids and a nanny in the Hamptons when he told them he had to step outside to take a telephone call at 4:30pm on April 29.
But the Dr. Praeger CEO wouldn’t be seen for another seven hours. When he finally returned at 11:30pm he appeared to be ‘intoxicated’, estranged wife Brenna Praeger claims in a Manhattan Supreme Court filing, which is tied to their divorce.
In the meantime, the couple’s children began frantically texting and calling Brenna, who was back in Manhattan, telling her they were ‘scared’ and ‘upset’ that he hadn’t come home.
A text from one of the children said ‘my head hurts to death’ and ‘mommy I feel like I’m bout to die’, according to screenshots shared as part of the divorce filing, as observed by Page Six.
Larry Praeger (left) – the son of Dr. Praeger’s Purely Sensible Foods co-founder Peter Praeger – he told his family he had to step outside to take a telephone call at 4:30pm on April 29. His estranged wife Brenna (right) said he didn’t return for seven hours and emerged ‘intoxicated’
Larry had been staying with his three kids and a nanny at his $1.7 million property in Water Mill, in the Hamptons (above)
Concerned for her children’s well-being, Brenna frantically hopped in an Uber and raced to the couple’s five-bedroom, three-bathroom $1.7 million mansion in Water Mill.
The mother-of-three said she arrived at 11:15pm to find ‘unknown drug substances, pills and drug paraphernalia strewn along the countertop in her master bedroom.’
‘The drugs were fully exposed with no efforts to conceal them,’ court documents say.
Brenna took photographs of the apparent illegal substances, sharing with the court images of what appears to be psychedelic mushrooms in a plastic bag, cannabis-infused mints, a vape pen and a small object wrapped in gold paper.
Two prescription pill bottles are also seen in the photos, one with Larry’s name written across the front and labelled to be containing ‘amphetamine salts,’ which are often used to treat narcolepsy and ADHD.
Brenna says she also found similar items in a safe inside the home back in May 2019, with photos of that discovery showing a rolled-up plastic bag, a scrunched up ball aluminum foil and a case for a cannabis vaping pen.
Larry returned to the Water Mill house 10 minutes after Brenna arrived. She locked the door to the garage to stop him from entering.
Brenna frantically hopped in an Uber to race to the couple’s five-bedroom, three-bathroom mansion in Water Mill. The mother-of-three said she arrived at 11:15pm to find ‘unknown drug substances, pills and drug paraphernalia strewn along the countertop in her master bedroom’
Larry returned to the Water Mill house 10 minutes after Brenna arrived. She locked the door to the garage to stop him from entering
Brenna says Larry then began screaming, pounding on the door and ‘threatening her that she would never set foot in this house again,’ court documents show.
Eventually, Larry somehow managed to get back into the home and allegedly left when Brenna agreed to hand over a backpack from the bathroom containing unknown items that she ‘was never able to photograph’.
Brenna says she had spent nine days at the Hamptons home with the children before leaving them alone with Larry on April 26.
‘Within 72 hours of Mr. Praeger being responsible for the parties [sic] Children, he left them with their nanny…so he could go out partying,’ court documents show, as reported by Page Six.
Brenna filed the suit on April 30, requesting emergency custody of her children and exclusive use to the Water Mill home. She also requested Larry be drug tested within 24 hours and subject to a random test at a later date.
Justice Douglas Hoffman honoured the requests. Larry is now said to be undergoing 30 days of random, bi-weekly urine and hair testing for drugs, including LSD.
The CEO was also ordered to quarantine for 14 days.