Linda Evangelista claims she was abused by ex-husband Gérald Marie as she praises women who accused him of rape for ‘giving her the courage to speak’

Linda Evangelista has claimed that her ex-husband Gérald Marie mistreated her during their five years of marriage.

The Canadian model, 58, was married to Marie, 73, between 1987 and 1993, during which time he was the European head of Elite Model Management.

Discussing their relationship in the Apple TV+ documentary The Super Models, Evangelista said: “I learned that maybe I was in a bad relationship.

“Leaving an abusive relationship is easier said than done. I understand this concept, because I have lived it. If it was just a matter of saying, “I want a divorce, see you later”… that doesn’t work like that.

“He knew not to touch my face, not to touch the money maker, you know?”

She continued: “I married him when I was 22 and I dated when I was 27 and he let me date on the condition that he had everything.” But I was safe and regained my freedom.

In 2020, Marie was accused of rape and sexual misconduct by seven women, with Evangelista admitting she believed their claims while praising their “courage and strength”.

She went on to reveal that they gave her the “courage” to speak out but that their allegations “broke my heart”.

She said in the documentary: “Through the power of all these women coming forward, God bless them all, it gave me the courage to speak out…

“I would like justice to be done. I wish assholes like this would think twice and be afraid and I wish women would know that they are not alone.

In a statement to Apple TV+, Marie denied the abuse allegations and said he “never committed any act of violence.”

Marie’s legal representatives told MailOnline: ‘Gérald Marie strongly opposes the defamatory and false allegations made against him. He refuses to participate in this dishonest media controversy.

Evangelista previously claimed that because of her “own experiences” with Marie, she believed the allegations that he raped and sexually assaulted models in the 1980s and 1990s.

Marie allegedly committed these crimes while working for the Elite modeling agency, among other Parisian agencies.

In a 2020 interview with the Guardian, she said: “During my relationship with Gérald Marie, I knew nothing about these sexual allegations against him, so I was unable to help these women. »

Speaking to Guardian’s Weekend magazine, Evangelista said: “Hearing from them (the alleged victims) now, and based on my own experiences, I believe they are telling the truth.

“It breaks my heart because these are wounds that may never heal, and I admire their courage and strength for speaking out today.”

What to watch: Evangelista made these statements while discussing their relationship in the Apple TV+ documentary The Super Models

Accusation: One of 13 former models accusing Marie of rape, 53-year-old American model Carré Sutton claims to have been assaulted several times by the model’s boss in 1985, when she was 16 years old.

Last year it was claimed that during their marriage, Marie ran a sordid sex ring within his multinational modeling agency – where he allegedly raped more than a dozen models as young as 14.

He was accused of raping at least 13 Elite models, apparently targeting younger women because he believed “virgins weren’t photogenic”, a former staffer said.

Marie also kept tabs on the models he and others slept with, the whistleblower said, rating them on a point system, based on their age and whether they were virgins or No.

He has denied all allegations against him.

The accusers also said the Frenchman would offer his victims a daily allowance of cocaine to keep them slim while engaging in the abuse – with one alleged victim claiming he was “prescribed” a vial of the drug a day to maintain his weight.

One of 13 former models accusing Marie of rape, American model Carré Sutton, 53, claims to have been assaulted several times by the model’s boss in 1985, when she was 16.

At the time, Marie was dating Evangelista — and Sutton claimed in an ongoing lawsuit against his ex-employer, filed last year, that several of the assaults took place in the Paris apartment the mogul shared with the model.

In February, French prosecutors closed the investigation into the rapes and sexual assaults after concluding that the alleged crimes committed in the 1980s and 1990s had occurred too long ago to be prosecuted under French law that sets deadlines for that offenses be tried before the courts.

“The case was closed on February 13 due to the statute of limitations on public action,” the Ministry of Justice said in a press release.

The businessman’s lawyer, Céline Bekerman, said her client “welcomed the closure of this case.” Justice finally triumphed despite the outrageous media campaign that Gérald Marie has endured for two years.

“With this decision, it is now established that Gérald Marie is and will remain innocent.”

Evangelista recently made headlines with her series of candid confessions on The Super Models, which sees the queen of the catwalk talks about her illustrious career alongside other models – Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell And Christy Turlington – as they reflect on how they came to dominate the fashion industry.

The four-episode project also covers many of the struggles women face – including Evangelista’s battle with depression after suffering a rare reaction to the procedure known as CoolSculpting, designed to shrink her fat cells, but which rather made them become enlarged.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, project directors Roger Ross Williams and Larissa Bill revealed how the mother-of-one, 58, could be seen “processing her emotions in real time, on camera” as she reflected on her ordeal.

Roger, who won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short in 2009, explained: “Larissa and I were in tears, as was everyone on the team. It was like an emotional interview from start to finish, we were crying the whole time. I’m surprised we got nothing.

“She was blurting out so many things that she had never talked about before. You see her feeling guilty and reacting in real time on camera, and it was an incredible interview.

Earlier this month, Evangelista revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy five years ago.

In an interview with WSJ Magazine, the model opened up about her December 2018 diagnosis that led her to undergo a bilateral mastectomy before discovering another lump in her chest last year.

Procedure: The model suffered a rare reaction to a procedure known as CoolSculpting that aimed to shrink her fat cells, but instead made them grow (left 1995, right 2022)

Evangelista’s first brush with cancer was detected during her annual mammogram.

“The margins were not good and, for other health factors, without hesitation, because I wanted to leave everything behind and not have to deal with it, I opted for a bilateral mastectomy. I thought I was good and ready for life. Breast cancer wasn’t going to kill me,” she said.

The model said “only a handful of people knew” about her cancer ordeal.

It is unclear whether she underwent breast reconstruction following her bilateral mastectomy.