Phil Collins's ex-wife Orianne Cevey dumped him over text, years after he split with second wife over fax
Phil Collins' ex-wife Orianne Cevey who was also his third spouse, dumped him over a text message after they rekindled their relationship over the coronavirus lockdown. They were living together in Miami during the pandemic.
Apparently, the drummer had no clue that she had found love with another man and even got married to him on August 2. The text in question was sent to Collins in July. The message said she had “found someone and would like to try to see if I can be happy again”. The text identified the man solely by the name “Thomas”. As it turned out, Cevey was secretly dating part-time guitarist Thomas Bates whom she married in Las Vegas, according to a sensational court filing.
The revelation of the text comes decades after the ex-Genesis rocker was reportedly accused of dumping his second wife, Jill Tavelman, by fax. Life came a full circle for Collins as he is said to have sent a fax to Tavelman, who is the mother of their actress daughter Lily Collins, in 1994. In the fax, he demanded a divorce, later saying he had fallen out of love with her. However, the claim has been denied by Collins over the years.
A source told the Sun that after getting the text “Phil’s hurt — just like anyone would be. He’s only human."
Collins and Cevey, who share two children, married in 1999 before divorcing in 2008. At the time, Cevey got a £25M ($32M) settlement. But the couple reunited in 2015. After the wedding, Cevey and Bates are now living in Collins' £30M ($38M) waterfront mansion and are refusing to vacate despite written demands. In a dramatic escalation of the stand-off, Collins wants them thrown out of his house.
He has asked a judge to grant an order claiming that the newlyweds are “trespassing” on his property and that their “heavily armed” security guards should quit. The lawsuit calls the occupants "trespassers" and reveals that Collins "believes there is a substantial risk that Mrs Bates or Mr Bates or their agents will remove, conceal or destroy valuable and irreplaceable personal property" from the home.
In an October 9 letter from Collins' attorney to the attorney representing Cevey, Jeffrey D Fisher claimed his opposing counsel's client is attempting to hold the house "hostage". "Plain and simple, the letter said that Phil had to pay millions of dollars to Orianne or she would file a baseless suit full of false information which would then undoubtedly be provided to the media to embarrass and defame Phil," Fisher wrote. "In addition, the letter stated that she would not vacate the Miami Beach home until Phil reached an agreement with Orianne premised on these ridiculous legal theories and unsubstantiated facts."
The lawsuit would give cops the power to arrest them if the couple does not vacate. His lawyers filed the request, saying: "An injunction is urgently needed to end an armed occupation and takeover of the Phil Collins home by his ex-girlfriend and her new husband."