https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ng-low-cash-cost-bitter-divorce-pandemic.html
- Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower were married in 1997, split in 1999, then got back together, renewed their vows in 2004 before he filed for divorce in 2018
- De Niro claims that he is running out of money and having not worked because of the coronarvirus pandemic which shut down Hollywood productions
- De Niro's last big flick, The Irishman, in 2019 earned him $5 million
- But his lawyer claims Hightower spends $215,000 a month
- On one occasion she is said to have spent $1.2 million on a diamond
- But Hightower also claims De Niro spends freely and charters $50,000 jets for weekends in Florida and $1 million on his children in 2019 and 2020
A judge has ruled that his ex-wife should receive $1 million annually and that the couple will split the proceeds after selling their $20 million home.
The couple have been locked in a divorce battle since December 2018.
Initially the pair fought over custody of their nine-year-old child but now the arguments are over money and property.
Hightower's average monthly spend was $215,000 a month on credit cards and $160,000 in cash. De Niro's attorney, Caroline Krauss, claims the financial strain means the actor is running out of money.
She said the coronavirus pandemic led to a drying up of work projects for the Hollywood star.
Months earlier, De Niro earned $5 million for acting in Martin Scorsese's hit gangster flick, The Irishman. He also received 'tens of millions of dollars' through a federal coronavirus relief program.
Hightower claims that De Niro is worth $500 million, but his attorney Caroline Krauss says that his estranged wife's extravagant lifestyle is making things worse.
Mr. De Niro is 77 years old. And while he loves his craft, he should not be forced to work at this prodigious pace because he has to,' Krauss said.
'When does that stop? When does he get the opportunity to not maybe take every project that comes along? Or not work six-day weeks, 12-hour days, simply to keep up with Ms. Hightower's thirst for Stella McCartney?'
De Niro has been spending his time between his home in Tribeca, an estate in New Paltz and an apartment he is renting in Manhattan.
When the martial home is finally sold off, he will have to buy Hightower a new home.
