A hairdresser to the stars is suing his heiress ex for $2million, claiming she tricked him into believing they married with a fake $1million, star-studded four-day wedding, which she used as a PR stunt to get attention amid prenup concerns from her dad.
William Jordan Blackmore says he was duped by Andi Potamkin into thinking the pair were wed in 2015 at the $3,000-per-night Amangiri resort in Utah in a ceremony featured as part of a magazine deal.
Guests, including Elizabeth Olsen, designer Recho Omondi and actress Alexis Nichole Smith, flew in by private jet to the wedding after save-the-dates arrived complete with rocks filled with colorful crystals and a hammer to open them.
Those in attendance were told ‘frequent outfit changes encouraged’ as they took part in zip-lining, hiking and poker among other activities at the extravaganza dubbed ‘the dreamiest desert wedding you’ve ever seen’.
The invitations were accompanied by a folded card titled, ‘Wedding Color Story,’ which encouraged guests to match their clothes to colors such as ‘parchment,’ ‘eucalyptus,’ ‘desert rose,’ and ‘dune ecru.’
But the long-term couple – who met in a Miami nightclub in 2006 and even got matching tattoos – were not really getting hitched and Blackmore, 35, now calls the spectacular affair a ‘sham’, a lawsuit claims.
William Jordan Blackmore says he was duped by then girlfriend Andi Potamkin, both pictured
He says he thought the pair were wed in 2015 at the Amangiri resort in Utah after celebrity guests flew in by private jet to the lavish four day event covered by a magazine
Blackmore, 35, now calls the wedding a ‘sham’ after their officiator was not ordained, the lawsuit claims. He alleges Andi, 30, formed the plan with her millionaire dad Alan Potamkin. Andi is seen left with Blackmore in January 2017 and right trying on wedding dresses in 2015
Stylist Blackmore, whose clients include Marc Jacobs, Olsen and Selena Gomez, says Potamkin, 30, made him believe they had wed.
In fact, he alleges, she formed the plan with her millionaire dad Alan Potamkin, 70, who was said to be worried Blackmore would not sign a pre-nup.
Blackmore, who proposed with a $90,000 ring, says he did eventually sign the document but court papers allege Alan ‘actively participated in and assisted the fraud’.
The lawsuit claims: ‘The truth was that Andi never wanted to marry Jordan; she just wanted a lavish wedding experience, a public-relations stunt and the attention that came with it’.
Alan wanted ‘to give his daughter the fantasy experience and attention she so desired, with no lasting consequences under law’ the lawsuit adds.
It goes on: ‘Alan also did not want his daughter to be legally married to Jordan because he was afraid that Jordan would not sign a prenuptial agreement before the wedding. So Alan and Andi fraudulently induced Jordan unwittingly to participate in a wedding that was a sham.’
According to court documents, Andi is said to have told the couple’s friend, Dana Rizer, in secret that she did not need to become ordained to officiate their ceremony as they would make it official in New York.
But Blackmore says that did not happen. And so when they went on their $25,000 honeymoon the couple were not married, he claims.
Andi told her friend that she did not need to become ordained, the lawsuit claims
Blackmore learned they were never legally married when legal documents sent by Andi referred to their ‘symbolic’ ceremony, his lawsuit claims
Guests, including Elizabeth Olsen, designer Recho Omondi and actress Alexis Nichole Smith, flew in by private jet to the wedding. Those in attendance were told ‘frequent outfit changes encouraged’ as they took part in ziplining, hiking and poker. Andi is seen left and right in 2016
The long-term couple – who met in a Miami nightclub in 2006 and even got matching tattoos – were not really getting hitched and split in 2018
Stylist Blackmore, whose clients include Marc Jacobs, Olsen and Selena Gomez, says Potamkin, 30, made him believe they had wed and he now wants $2 million in damages
Andi told The New York Post the lawsuit ‘includes tons of untrue and irrelevant information about my family, included for no purpose other than to attempt to publicly embarrass us’.
Alan, whose family founded the Potamkin Auto Group, is said to have referred to Blackmore as son and Andi repeatedly called him her husband across social media, the lawsuit states.
The relationship ended in 2018 at Andi’s request and after she allegedly had an affair, the lawsuit says. Blackmore later learned they were never legally married when documents sent by Andi referred to their ‘symbolic’ ceremony.
The lawsuit states: ‘Over the ensuing weeks, Jordan was devastated to learn that the last three years of his life had been based on a fraud, orchestrated by Andi and Alan Potamkin, who duped Jordan into believing that he was married to Andi.
‘She quickly decided that she no longer wanted to play the role of Jordan’s wife. So, as was her practice, she turned to her wealthy and powerful father to bail her out.’