And if Real Housewives of Cheshire star Lauren Simon’s time in the house is even half as dramatic as he personal life over the last few years, viewers will have lots to digest.
3
3
She went through a messy divorce in 2018 from ex-husband Paul Simon, with who she shares two daughters Gigi and Kika.
The whole ordeal took a great toll on Lauren, 46, and she struggled to get out of bed in the aftermath.
She told OK!: “This divorce has been really difficult, and I was just exhausted from it all. I am very lucky that I’ve got amazing family and friends to get me through. I’ve also relied heavily on mindfulness to counteract the negativity, and put positive thoughts and feelings into myself. Going to court once or twice a month is debilitating.
“People should be given a manual on how to get divorced because it’s the hardest thing that I’ve been through. Nothing lasts forever – good or bad – so I know there will be light at the end of the tunnel.”
And in a dramatic final cleanse of the relationship, Lauren burned her wedding dress on a bonfire.
The couple split after 13 years together and Lauren was initially handed a £3million lump sum from her property tycoon ex.
But Simon won an appeal against the order after claiming they only had £2million between them in assets with no cash of his own.
In February 2021, a consent order was agreed by both sides as Lauren was given the right to live in a £1.8million mansion in Altrincham for life if she dropped all other bids to get Simon’s money.
A specialist divorce finance company later claimed the former couple entered a “collusive agreement” to avoid paying a £1million bill Lauren owed them.
Integro Funding Limited (Level) said they lent the reality star £865,828 to help her fight her ex in court but the agreement has left Lauren with no money of her own to pay the check.
Top judges agreed to join the company as a party to the divorce case – meaning Lauren and Simon were hauled back to court.
Judge Nicholas Cusworth QC said there was “extraordinary” evidence relating to communications about the consent order.
He added: “By the order made by Mrs Justice Parker in July 2018, later successfully appealed, the wife would have received some £3m.
“Now by reason of the agreement entered into… the wife was to receive the right to reside in a property owned by the husband’s trust for the rest of her life, but no additional liquid capital to meet her claim.
“Level was owed £865,828 under its loan agreements with the wife. To secure the borrowing, she had legally assigned to Level the benefit of the financial provision to be awarded to her by the court.
“I am…satisfied that Level’s joinder to these proceedings…was entirely appropriate,…and that it is desirable that they should remain a party so that the clearly connected issues between Level and the wife, and between the wife and the husband, can be fairly and expeditiously resolved”.
The situation was still unresolved as of last autumn and described as a “procedural quagmire”.
Lauren shot the fame in 2015 on the debut series of Real Housewives of Cheshire but left three years later. However, her absence didn’t last long, and in shock scenes she bizarrely claimed she’d had sex with a ghost upon her return in 2020.
The party planner also launched her own perfume after the divorce.
3