Phil Collins’ ex-wife has accused him of spying on her by setting up hidden cameras in her bathroom and changing room, in explosive new court documents from their bitter legal battle that got underway at a Florida courtroom Tuesday.
Orianne Cevey alleges the rock legend fabricated a ‘shameful story’ in his lawsuit to have her removed from his Miami Beach mansion, where she is living with her new toyboy husband.
The 46-year-old jewellery designer also calls Collins, 69, ‘callous’ for pushing her to live in her Las Vegas home, as she says that would take her son from another marriage away from his father who lives locally.
It is the latest blistering salvo in the new chapter of the British drummer’s headline-grabbing on-off relationship with Orianne.
After a 12-year marriage and two sons, the pair divorced in 2008 with a record $47 settlement.
They surprised the world when they announced in 2016 they were back together and living in Collins’ $33 million waterfront mansion in Miami.
Earlier this month it emerged they had again split, after the 69-year-old found out she had married struggling musician Thomas Bates, 30, in Las Vegas, while he was in Europe.
Phil Collins’ ex-wife has accused him of spying on her by setting up hidden cameras in her bathroom and changing room, in explosive new court documents from their bitter legal battle. Orianne Cevey and her new husband pictured leaving their attorneys’ offices this week
![Cevey and Bates, a 30-year-old struggling musician, tied the knot in August. He moved into the Miami mansion whilst Collins was out of town](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/10/21/01/34640974-8861709-image-m-4_1603240429056.jpg)
Cevey and Bates, a 30-year-old struggling musician, tied the knot in August. He moved into the Miami mansion whilst Collins was out of town
As he sued to have them removed, the In the Air Tonight singer claimed the pair are ‘trespassers’ and have taken over the home with armed guards ‘through a show of force’.
The couple hit back through their legal team and, in a newly revealed response, called the lawsuit ‘nothing more than a retaliation’ to the new marriage and a ‘shameful story’ that he has ‘fabricated’.
They accused him of trying to ‘strip them of all their belongings, excepting only the clothes on their backs as they are dragged out of their home.’
In a court hearing on Tuesday, Collins’ attorneys mocked Xever’s for claiming she has a 50 percent interest in the home, which was purchased through an LLC said to be owned solely by Collins.
He recently listed it for sale at $40 million and alleges she has stopped a realtor from trying to sell it.
But, in an affidavit, she alleges that, ‘Mr Collins and I selected and purchased the Family Home to live in as a family’ in 2015.
‘Even after we were divorced, Mr Collins and I always remained close,’ she reveals.
‘Mr Collins and I decided to give our romantic relationship another chance, especially because it was critical to the children’s well-being and important to us that the children be raised by two parents.’
She adds they chose a home that would be near to the father of her youngest son, whom she shares custody with ex-husband Charles Mejjati, and is referred to in the docs as ‘A.A’.
![Collins and Cevey (pictured in 2018) married in 1999, and divorced in 2008. They reconciled in 2016, but Collins was left stunned when he learned of Cevey's romance with struggling musician Thomas Banks](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/10/11/22/34266082-8829065-Even_their_children_were_stunned_when_Phil_Collins_and_Orianne_C-m-27_1602450514907.jpg)
Collins and Cevey (pictured in 2018) married in 1999, and divorced in 2008. They reconciled in 2016, but Collins was left stunned when he learned of Cevey’s romance with struggling musician Thomas Banks
‘We selected the furniture together, among other things, to make the Family Home ours, and Mr Collins, and I, along with the children, decided to name the home Fil D’or,’ she says.
The affidavit adds that she moved in her personal possessions from Switzerland, worth $10 million, and opened a joint bank account.
Cevey and Bates married on August 2ndin Las Vegas.
The affidavit says the former Genesis musician left the Miami Beach home ‘in August… on his own volition’ and left behind ‘some private possessions’.
He came back to take some of his belongings in late August, before leaving again, according to the documents.
The filings include a personal text message, said to be from Collins, saying he would only be back again in January, despite claims from his legal team that he was looking to return for Christmas.
The message ends with: ‘I’ve told the boys and they’re ok and understand. Hope you do too. P x.’
In his lawsuit to have her removed, Collins accused her of covering up security cameras in the house to prevent him from seeing into his home.
However, Cevey claims in a dramatic turn that the cameras she covered had been installed secretly to spy on her.
‘I discovered approximately twenty hidden cameras throughout the Family Home, including in my personal bathroom and changing room,’ she says in the affidavit.
‘These cameras were installed without my knowledge or consent. I covered these cameras with band-aids in order to preserve my privacy and the privacy of my children in the Family Home.
‘I was greatly disturbed and outraged that Mr Collins apparently requested that hidden cameras be installed in these rooms.’
In another filing, her legal team accuse Collins of trying to ‘spy on (Cevey) during her most private moments.’
![In another filing, her legal team accuses Collins of trying to 'spy on (Cevey) during her most private moments'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/10/21/01/34640972-8861709-image-a-3_1603239608583.jpg)
In another filing, her legal team accuses Collins of trying to ‘spy on (Cevey) during her most private moments’
![Collins and Bates are seen out in Miami last week. Collins claims the pair have taken over his mansion 'through a show of force', changing security codes, blocking his access to CCTV and bringing in an armed security team](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/10/21/02/34643592-8861709-image-a-27_1603245530327.jpg)
Collins and Bates are seen out in Miami last week. Collins claims the pair have taken over his mansion ‘through a show of force’, changing security codes, blocking his access to CCTV and bringing in an armed security team
They also claim he has ‘fabricated a tale of an “armed takeover” by Orianne’ at the house, saying the security team she is using is the same the pair have had for five years.
In fact, she claims that a ‘long time guard’ was spying on her for Collins and ‘relaying personal and private information about me’ to him after he left the home. The man was fired, according to the documents.
In a more touching passage, Orianne tells how during the latest stint in their relationship Collins raised A.A. as if he was his own.
She adds: ‘Despite the status of our relationship and the recent actions he has taken… Mr Collins and I have children together and I still consider him an important part of my and their lives.’
But a filing from her legal team says: ‘Uprooting A.A. from the Home would severely disrupt his life and sense of stability and would severely burden the shared-custody and parenting plan in place.’
They add that the suggestion to move to Las Vegas ‘only highlights the improper nature of this entire lawsuit, and Mr Collins’ true motive – to harass and demean Orianne, while hurting the children at the same time.’
![Inside the home, Collins has left behind memorabilia and unpublished music, as well as millions of dollars worth of jewelry](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/10/21/02/34642096-8861709-image-a-7_1603242310434.jpg)
Inside the home, Collins has left behind memorabilia and unpublished music, as well as millions of dollars worth of jewelry
![Collins and Cevey in 2003](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/10/21/01/34230658-8860251-Collins_and_Cevey_in_2003-a-15_1603238638476.jpg)
![Collins and Cevey in 2017](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/10/21/01/34605944-8861709-Collins_and_Cevey_in_2017-a-6_1603241916261.jpg)
Collins (left with Cevey in 2003, right in 2017) filed a lawsuit seeking to remove Cevey from his home
![The parties agreed to have any items belonging to Collins or under dispute removed and held in storage until the case is decided](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/10/21/02/34642098-8861709-image-a-23_1603243259964.jpg)
The parties agreed to have any items belonging to Collins or under dispute removed and held in storage until the case is decided
As part of her reasons to remain, the documents also say that she suffers from a ‘debilitating neurological condition’ requiring daily physical therapy with equipment in the home, including its swimming pool.
While Orianne’s affidavit runs for six pages, new husband Thomas Bates’ is only one page long.
In it he claims he has only been living with her in the house since September 14, despite confirming they were married over a month earlier. He also says Collins left for Switzerland on August 28th.
He adds: ‘Mr. Collins left a number of his personal belongings in the Family Home, even though he could have taken them with him.
‘I also will not do anything to damage or dispose of any of Mr. Collins’ personal belongings. At no time did Mr. Collins express any concern to me or Orianne in my presence about either of us damaging his personal belongings.’
The fillings also detail that Orianne split with her two original lawyers earlier this week over ‘irreconcilable difference’.
At the last hearing, Collins’ team accused Orianne of stalling, saying she was going through ‘lawyer number three, story number four.’
In their original filings, Collins’ legal team had accused Orianne of taking over the house and demanding a ‘preposterous amount of money’ to leave it.
They alleged that if he did not comply, her intention would be to ‘file a baseless suit full of false information which would then undoubtedly be provided to the media to embarrass and defame Phil.’
At a hearing earlier this week, the parties agreed to remove any disputed items in the mansion while the case is heard, including personal possessions Collins labelled ‘irreplaceable’, such as unpublished music and his collection of Alamo memorabilia.
On the back of Orianne’s claim of an ownership interest in the house, a Miami judge decided the case should be heard at a different court, indicating that the new couple will continue to reside in the house for now.
Collins’ team angrily accused them of using ‘gamesmanship’ to stay in the home.
A new hearing would be expedited, the judge said, but has yet to be scheduled.
![Cevey allegedly sent a Collins 'a text' telling him that she had 'found someone else' to see if she could try and be 'happy again'. Pictured in 2016](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/10/21/02/34520428-8861709-Split_Phil_Collins_69_split_from_his_third_ex_wife_Orianne_Cevey-a-22_1603243227646.jpg)
Cevey allegedly sent a Collins ‘a text’ telling him that she had ‘found someone else’ to see if she could try and be ‘happy again’. Pictured in 2016