A former model has dumped her New York restaurateur spouse for her identical twin’s Zadig & Voltaire founder husband – and her heartbroken sister is said to have taken up with her estranged hubby to get revenge, according to a report.
A source told Page Six the rumored husband swap began during the pandemic when ex-model Charlotte Bonstrom, 50, cheated on husband of 20 years Vittorio Assaf.
Charlotte is said to have begun an affair with Thierry Gillier – the 62-year-old founder of luxury fashion house Zadig & Voltaire, who is also the husband of her own sister and former model Cecilia Bonstrom.
Assaf, the 62-year-old founder of the famed New York restaurant chain Serafina, and Charlotte have two children together.
Meanwhile, Cecilia and Gillier have a son Emil together and three children from their previous relationships.
They continue to work together at Zadig & Voltaire, where Cecilia has been artistic director since 2006.
On the company website, Cecilia is described as ‘the other half of Zadig & Voltaire’ whose style ‘plays in perfect balance to founder Thierry Gillier’.
Now, rumors are also swirling that Cecilia and Assaf have become an item.
Charlotte and Cecilia Bonstrom with Thierry Gillier in2017. Former model Charlotte has dumped her New York restaurateur spouse Vittorio Assaf for identical twin Cecilia’s Zadig & Voltaire founder husband Gillier, according to a report
Charlotte Bonstrom and Vittorio Assaf in 2010 (left). Thierry Gillier and Cecilia Bonstrom in 2016 (right). The sister’s are rumored to have swapped spouses
Assaf confirmed to Page Six Wednesday that he is divorcing his wife because she wants to get married to her sister’s husband, Gillier.
‘Charlotte and I are in the process of getting divorced – she wants to get remarried,’ he said Wednesday.
‘[She] is getting married to Thierry Gillier, the ex-husband of her sister.’
Assaf denied any romance between himself and Cecilia.
‘It is very difficult but I have nothing to do with the sister of Charlotte,’ he insisted.
It is not clear when exactly Gillier and Charlotte allegedly started cheating on their respective partners though it is said to have been sometime during the pandemic.
The source told Page Six Charlotte had started ‘secretly dating other people’ because she was ‘hurt’ that Assaf ‘spent time with models during their marriage.’
Cecilia is then thought to have learned about the double betrayal by her sister and her husband last March with the source saying ‘it broke Celia’s heart’.
Vittorio Assaf, Charlotte and Cecilia Bonstrom at a Zadig & Voltaire show in 2009 in NYC. Assaf told Page Six he is divorcing his wife Charlotte because she ‘is getting married to Thierry Gillier, the ex-husband of her sister’ Cecilia
Sante D’Orazio, Donna D’Cruz, Charlotte Bonstrom Assaf and Thierry Gillier (l-r) at a 2009 Zadig & Voltaire show. Gillier is married to Charlotte’s sister Cecilia but is said to have started an affair with Charlotte during the pandemic
She posted cryptic posts on Instagram at that time, taking swipes at Gillier and Charlotte for lacking ‘integrity.’
In one, posted March 13, she shared a meme reading: ‘You’re looking for three things generally, in a person: Intelligence, energy and integrity. And if they don’t have the last one, don’t even bother with the first two.’
She tagged her husband and sister in the post along with the hashtags ‘#thanks’ and ‘#warrenbuffet’.
Two days later on March 15 she posted a close-up photo of her own red eyes with the hashtags ‘#momentoftruth #iknowwhoiam #nolies’.
She shared another post the following day that read: ‘Maturity is learning to walk away from people & situations that threaten your peace of mind, self-respect, values, morals or self-worth.’
Cecilia is thought to have learned of the affair in March 2020. She posted cryptic posts on Instagram at that time, taking swipes at Gillier and Charlotte for lacking ‘integrity’
Neither her sister or husband appear to feature in any of her Instagram posts after this date.
Cecilia regularly posts from fashion shoots with Zadig & Voltaire with another source telling Page Six the separated spouses still both work for the label.
‘I don’t know how that is going to work out,’ they said.
‘One would think there would be other men around than your twin sister’s husband.’
The source said they don’t think the identical twins will ever reconcile their relationship.
Last February, just one month before the alleged affair is thought to have come to light, Cecilia and Gillier gave fashion bible Vogue a tour around their Paris home.
Cecilia Bonstrom and Charlotte Bonstrom attend the private dinner for the Zadig And Voltaire art exhibition at Guggenheim Museum in 2013
The designer couple, who wed in 2016, posed for photos on the stairway of the new five-bedroom, 500-square-metre home describing how they had transformed the place – a stone’s throw from the fashion house HQ – with ‘their shared aesthetic.’
Meanwhile, last March, Charlotte set up a GoFundMe to raise money on behalf of Assaf after Serafina restaurants closed indefinitely due to the pandemic.
Assaf cofounded Serafina with Fabio Granato with its first pizza restaurant opening in New York City. It has now expanded across three continents.
Attempts by DailyMail.com to reach Assaf, Charlotte and Cecilia by phone Wednesday night for comment were unsuccessful.
Charlotte declined to comment to Page Six, saying: ‘This is my private life. You can write whatever you want. I have two children in the middle, and I care about them more than the New York Post.’
Cecilia and Gillier continue to work together at Zadig & Voltaire. He founded the company and she has been artistic director since 2006
Assaf cofounded Serafina with Fabio Granato with its first pizza restaurant in New York