A REALITY TV star who burned her wedding dress to celebrate her divorce is now facing bankruptcy amid another legal battle.
Celebrity Big Brother contestant Lauren Simon, 51, says she was left “destroyed” after her eight-year divorce hell ended in her getting none of her multimillionaire ex-husband’s money.
Lauren, who featured on ITV’s Real Housewives of Cheshire, had initially been handed a £3million lump sum by a judge in 2018 after the end of her 13-year marriage to property tycoon Paul Simon, 54.
But Paul later won an appeal against the order after claiming that, as the couple had only £2million between them in liquid assets, he was left with no ready cash of his own.
The pair subsequently agreed to settle the case in February 2021, with Lauren being given the right to live in a £1.8m mansion in Altrincham for life – but with no cash payout for her.
In 2021, after reaching the settlement with her ex, Lauren gave an interview in which she described having a party where she burned her wedding dress to celebrate the divorce.
But this was not the end of her legal woes, as the settlement was scrapped and the pair were dragged back to court by the company which lent the TV star the money to pay her lawyers.
The firm – Integro Funding Limited, trading as ‘Level’ – claimed the couple had entered into a “collusive agreement” to avoid the firm being paid back the £1.2million that she owes them.
The company was then joined to the divorce case and the former couple were taken back to court.
Lauren has dropped the claim against her husband, but the court heard Level are bringing a separate civil case against her, seeking their money back.
This means the reality star will walk away from the marriage with none of her husband’s millions and no funds to pay Level’s £1.2million bill, leaving her at risk of bankruptcy.
Yesterday, ending the divorce battle at the High Court, Mr Justice Peel said Lauren had confirmed she now wants to drop her claim and for the legal fight to end.
This comes despite her husband’s lawyers confirming she gets no cash from the marriage.
“She was crystal clear in not wanting any further litigation, which she said had destroyed her and her family,” said the judge.
The court heard the couple married in November 2003 and had two children before separating in January 2016.
They lived in a lavish £1.8million home in Bowden, Cheshire.
Lauren shot to fame in 2015 after she found a role on Real Housewives of Cheshire, which features the glamorous lifestyles of Cheshire women.
She left the show in 2019, before returning in 2020.
She earned £40,000-a-year, but also received perks and the chance to plug her brand of perfume, Lauren Stone Number One, which she launched at a lavish party in Hale Barns, the court heard.
Following a bitterly contested hearing, Mrs Justice Parker awarded Lauren the £3million lump sum as a final conclusion to the couple’s married life in 2018.
But that was later overturned on the husband’s appeal.
The pair then reached a settlement but lawyers for Level claimed the 2021 agreement was “collusive” and that, in providing her with no cash, was “seeking to exclude” the company from claiming its money.
The debt is unenforceable because Mrs Simon – who owes the money – has been left with no cash or assets, and the company has no claim on the husband’s wealth.
The judge, Mr Justice Peel, said there is “little” that Level can do about Lauren withdrawing her application for “financial remedies”, other than making her bankrupt.
“And they would be unable to recoup any of the debt she owes to them,” he added.
Having made “no order” on Lauren’s application, the judge said: “Should either wife or husband wish to make an application for financial remedies in the future, it must be issued afresh.
“If such an application is made, Level is to be automatically joined as intervener, and the application must be served on them.”
The judge added: “Level is not without potential remedies, as its civil claim remains pending.
“I make no observation on the merits, or otherwise, of its claim for a sum which now stands at about £1.2m, including interest but excluding costs.”
