Society's most bitter marital breakdown: Aristocratic reality TV star Lady Isabella Hervey accuses husband of being a brutal wife beater.
After the birth of her first child, Lady Isabella Hervey reflected: 'I have always had a fairy-tale dream of a happy family life, and now that fairy-tale dream has come true.'
That fairytale has now turned into a horrific nightmare, the former reality TV star reveals.
Lady Isabella, the 41-year-old sister of the Marquess of Bristol, claims her husband, Belgian businessman Christophe de Pauw, is a wife beater.
One of the painful injuries he is said to have inflicted on her was a blow in hospital after the birth of their daughter, which left Lady Isabella with a fractured skull.
Lady Isabella, the 41-year-old sister of the Marquess of Bristol, claims her husband beats her
Lady Isabella and husband Christophe De Pauw in the Ivy Garden in Chelsea, May 2016
Injuries to Lady Isabella Hervey, posted by her sister Lady Victoria on social media, claiming they were inflicted by Christoph de Pauw
Her sister, Lady Victoria Hervey, 47, a friend of Prince Andrew, shocked friends this week by posting a series of graphic photos of her injuries online
In one photo, she has what appears to be swelling and bruising under her eye
Her sister, Lady Victoria Hervey, 47, a friend of Prince Andrew, shocked friends this week by posting a series of graphic photos online of Lady Isabella's injuries. In one photo, she has what appears to be swelling and bruising under her eye.
Lady Isabella tells me: 'There are many more images and videos, but the mental abuse was the worst for me. This all happened around my children and especially in front of them. The six and seven year old boys treat me like their father did. It's very disturbing.'
In August I announced that Lady Isabella had divorced De Pauw after ten years of marriage.
She had previously risen to fame through appearances on TV shows and was named one of the sexiest women in the world by lad magazine FHM after starring in Celebrity Love Island. After winning The Games on Channel 4, she found solace in cycling and recently represented Great Britain at the UCI World Championships in Glasgow.
The couple initially lived in Belgium, but Lady Isabella is now in Portugal with their children. “I didn't want to make any of this public because I'm a private citizen, but things have gotten worse and worse this year,” she tells me. She says she has filed charges against her husband in both Belgium and Portugal.
Her sister also claims that her brother-in-law was unfaithful to Lady Isabella.
“Christoph de Pauw must be locked up,” Lady Victoria declares. 'He is a serial abuser. He cheated on my sister and then punished her for it. He hit my sister after she gave birth to her third child. She was beaten in the hospital and her skull was fractured. It has gotten to the point where we can no longer remain silent.”
Lady Isabella's family lost their ancestral seat, Ickworth in Suffolk, as a result of the self-destructive showmanship of her elder half-brother, John, the 7th Marquess, who died aged 44.
He squandered £35 million on helicopters, heroin and other recreational pleasures. Meanwhile, her half-brother, Lord Nicholas Hervey, took his own life at the age of 36.
De Pauw does not want to comment.