London - Sheik Walid Juffali – whose fortune has been estimated at £4billion – put on ‘wonderfully romantic’ tenth anniversary treat for former Pirelli calendar girl Christina Estrada, 54.
But behind her back, he was arranging a third marriage to a 22-year-old Lebanese model and television presenter.
Miss Estrada – mother to one of her ex-husband’s six children – has launched a £196million divorce claim that may lead to one of the largest settlements in British legal history.
Lawyers for her ex-husband, 62, have branded her claim as ‘excessive and firmly in gasp territory’.
In a statement presented in court yesterday, Miss Estrada said her husband had spoiled her in the months before she found out he had married someone else.
She said he had hired Harry’s Bar in London in September 2011 on their wedding anniversary. She added: ‘He arranged for a piano to be installed and rose petals to be laid out guiding us from the street to our table.
‘They served us a ten-course meal with a special ten-tiered cake. It was a wonderfully romantic and, as usual with Walid, no expense was spared. Walid also gave me a note saying he would give me $2million as a present – although he did not actually pay me this sum.’
The billionaire’s ex-wife also revealed that, in February 2012, he lavished her with gifts on her 50th birthday in a three-day celebration in Abu Dhabi.
She said: ‘It was a stunning party – there were 200 guests and Walid told me that the fireworks alone had cost a million dollars.’
Two days later, a friend told her that Dr Juffali had married model Loujain Adada. His lawyers argue he is being wrongly portrayed as the villain, and is largely responsible for Miss Estrada being ‘a very wealthy woman’.
Daily Mail