When she married at 32, former It-girl Lady Isabella Hervey dared to believe her “fairytale dream of a happy family life” was finally coming true. But now, a decade later, it is bitterly evident that it was never more than a mirage.
In fact, her union with Belgian millionaire Christophe de Pauw instead heralded the beginning of a descent into excruciating physical and psychological trauma.
The story is revealed in great detail in a 38-page ruling just handed down in a court in Portugal, where Isabella, 42, lives in the Algarve with her three sons from De Pauw: Victor, who is named after her late father, the 6th Marquess of Bristol, thrice married; a younger son, Patrick; and a daughter, India.
The sentence should give her some comfort, a year after her older sister, Lady Victoria Hervey, 48, drew attention to her plight by posting a series of photographs online, each showing Isabella in serious condition. facial bruises.
“Christophe is accused of domestic violence and child abuse,” Isabella’s Portuguese lawyer, Patricia Cipriano, reveals to me, adding that the judge has issued a restraining order against De Pauw that prohibits him from coming within 300 meters of his ex-wife or seeing her. their children without a third party. party supervision.
When she married at 32, former It-girl Lady Isabella Hervey dared to believe her “fairytale dream of a happy family life” was finally coming true. But now, a decade later, it is bitterly evident that it was never more than a mirage.
Her union with the Belgian millionaire Christophe de Pauw heralded, instead, the beginning of a descent into terrible physical and psychological trauma.
When she got married at age 32, the former It-Girl dared to believe that her “fairytale dream of a happy family life” was finally coming true.
Isabella tells me: ‘It’s a huge relief that the restraining order has been imposed, for me and my children because it means we can be in our garden.
‘Before, we would literally barricade ourselves in our house when we were alone. So now I don’t feel like a prisoner in our own house.’
And he adds: ‘However, I am still afraid. Restraining order or not, I don’t think it’s enough to stop the guy.
‘So in one sense I feel relieved, but in another sense I’m always watching my back. I’m often still scared and don’t go out with the children at night.’
It’s a crushing end to Isabella’s hopes of having a happy family of her own, hopes perhaps largely inspired by the death of her father just one day after her third birthday.
When she met De Pauw through mutual friends in London in 2011, her glamor and athleticism had earned her an appearance on Celebrity Love Island and the accolade of being voted one of the sexiest women in the world by lad mag magazine FHM. .
But this masked bulimia, an eating disorder for which she had just completed three months of treatment.
The court ruling reveals that De Pauw had also been in treatment (a full year) for “addictive behavior with alcohol and drugs.”
One can only hope that Isabella’s nightmare has come to an end; her husband refuses to comment.
