Ever blast “In the Air Tonight” and just think about Phil Collins? What’s that dude doing these days? The 69-year-old is an ‘80s music legend and famously soundtracked Disney’s Tarzan and the lesser known Brother Bear, but has vastly remained out of the public eye in recent years. If you asked him this week in particular, chances are “You’ll Be In My Heart” isn’t on this week’s playlist.
The musician is in the process of suing his ex-wife and mother of two of his kids, Orianne Cevey, for reportedly inciting an “armed occupation and takeover” of his $33 million home, per court documents. Cevey broke things off with Phil Collins back in August and quickly remarried to 31-year-old Flordian musician Thomas Bates. This happened in Vegas, complete with an Elvis impersonator, no less.
Since then, the newlyweds have allegedly been attempting to take the Grammy winner’s house through the use of “three or four heavily armed individuals” as guards, along with changing entry codes and turning away visitors. Phil Collins is seeking an injunction to get her out of his house which he claims is “100 percent” his. Check out this statement by Collins’ lawyer Jeffrey Fisher:
Mrs. Bates, as she is now known, is trying to shake down Phil Collins for money, and as his attorney and former federal prosecutor, I have zero tolerance for that type of behavior. I’m going to use every legal remedy to get her out of the house.
Phil Collins married Orianne Cevey, a Swiss jewelry designer, in 1999 after meeting her on tour, and she worked as his translator. The pair had two sons together, Nicholas and Matthew, who are 19 and 15 years old, respectfully. The star of Netflix’s recent hit Emily in Paris, Lily Collins is also the daughter of Collins, but from a previous marriage, and he also has two other older kids, Simon and Joely, from his first marriage.
They divorced back in 2008, and at the time, Phil Collins gave her a record-breaking $46.7 million during the proceedings. The couple decided to get back together in 2016 and have lived together in the home since. Collins reportedly asked his ex-wife to vacate the residence four days after Cevey got remarried back in August, but her plan is to live in the house with her new husband.
Another issue at hand is claims that Cevey is threatening to release information about Phil Collins unless he pays her “a preposterous amount of money based on an oral agreement that does not exist,” according to the 96-page filing obtained by The Miami Herald. Collins is also apparently worried about his priceless belongings, such as his awards and instruments, which he believes his ex and her new husband will “remove, conceal or destroy.”
The hearing for Phil Collins’ injunction has begun this week. It certainly sounds like a headache for the parties involved that we’ll keep our eye on here at CinemaBlend.
