Pop Idol creator Simon Fuller faces a battle over his £450 million fortune after his wife Natalie Swanston filed for divorce.
Ms Swanston, 44, has cited ‘irreconcilable differences’ as the reason for the split after months of Hollywood rumours that they were living separate lives.
The couple, who have three children and married in a star-studded ceremony 17 years ago, signed a pre-nuptial agreement but it is anticipated the break-up could prompt a financial fight.
Interior designer Ms Swanston has requested spousal support from Mr Fuller, 64, but documents reportedly show she wants to stop a court awarding the same to him.
Sources say Briton Mr Fuller, who also created the Spice Girls in the mid-90s, has been living apart from his wife amid claims that relations have been strained.
One source said: ‘There has been much talk about Simon living on his own for a while. Things haven’t been great but now Natalie has taken their separation to the next level and said it’s time for divorce.
‘Simon’s life has changed dramatically from the days when he managed the Beckhams. He has retreated to a quieter life.’
Mr Fuller, who changed the face of TV with Pop Idol, the world’s most successful entertainment franchise, amassed a £445 million fortune, according to the Sunday Times Rich List in 2020. He had a portfolio of properties in Europe and North and South America.
Pop Idol creator Simon Fuller (right) faces a legal battle over his £450 million fortune after his wife Natalie Swanston (left) filed for divorce, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’ as the reason for the split after months of Hollywood rumours that they were living separate lives
The split comes as Mr Fuller is making an attempt to return to the showbusiness scene, planning a Spice Girls reunion tour next year to mark the 30th anniversary of their debut hit Wannabe. Pictured (left to right) Melanie Chisholm, Melanie Brown, Simon Fuller, Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell arrive at the Gala Press Night performance of ‘Viva Forever’ at the Piccadilly Theatre on December 11, 2012
While the rest of the Spice Girls appear onside, Fuller’s (left) involvement means that the band have not even bothered to approach Victoria Beckham (right) after she and husband David (centre) fell out with Mr Fuller about seven years ago and bought themselves out of their contracts with the mogul’s XIX Entertainment agency
While much of his wealth was accumulated before they married, Ms Swanston will be entitled to a share of his earnings afterwards.
Despite the strain of the pair travelling between the US and Britain for Mr Fuller’s work, his colleagues had regarded the marriage as ‘strong’ for many years.
They tied the knot in California’s Napa Valley in a three-day wedding in May 2008 that was said to have cost £2 million.
Victoria Beckham, Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell-Horner from the Spice Girls, singers Annie Lennox and Leona Lewis, his former Pop Idol co-star Nicky Chapman and supermodel Claudia Schiffer were among 70 friends from the worlds of music and showbiz who saw them exchange rings under an oak tree.
There was also a party at the Auberge du Soleil hotel in Napa Valley, where rooms cost £2,500 a night, and Mark Ronson’s DJ sister Samantha provided music.
Mr Fuller and Ms Swanston went on to have three children – a 14-year-old daughter, Grace, and nine-year-old twins.
They settled in Los Angeles but would regularly travel to Britain where his showbusiness agency XIX Entertainment had a base in Battersea, London.
In 2020, Mr Fuller sold the family’s seven-bedroom mansion in Bel Air, Los Angeles, just six years after he bought it.
Simon Fuller attends his Hollywood Walk Of Fame Induction Ceremony on May 23, 2011 in Hollywood, California
Fuller also for a time handled the careers of American Idol winners Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson, as well as names like Amy Winehouse; pictured with Carrie at the 2008 Grammys
The announcement of divorce proceedings comes exactly three weeks before what would have been the couple’s 17th wedding anniversary. The couple pictured together in November 2009, six months after their wedding
He and Ms Swanston bought the 11,200 sq ft home for £18.7 million and carried out extensive renovation work, enabling them to sell it for £21.9 million.
Before that Mr Fuller lived in a five-bedroom home in Beverly Hills which he had bought as a bachelor in 2005.
The split comes as Mr Fuller is making an attempt to return to the showbusiness scene, planning a Spice Girls reunion tour next year to mark the 30th anniversary of their debut hit Wannabe.
Reports say that he and Ms Halliwell-Horner were due to meet at last week’s Grand Prix in Miami to discuss the project, which both reportedly hope will get off the ground.
‘It would certainly take his mind off his divorce,’ said one associate of Mr Fuller’s. ‘He is used to being a very busy man so it would be good for him to get stuck into something like a big tour.’
But while he appears to have got Ms Halliwell-Horner, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Melanie Brown onside, his involvement means that the band have not even bothered to approach Victoria Beckham.
She and husband David fell out with Mr Fuller about seven years ago and bought themselves out of their contracts with the mogul’s XIX Entertainment agency. The couple paid about £38 million for Mr Fuller’s 33 per cent stake in the former England footballer’s businesses, which gave David and Victoria full control of Beckham Brand Holdings, which includes a stake in US-based football club Inter Miami.
In 2016, Mr Fuller persuaded super-group ABBA to reunite to explore working in virtual reality, which led to the ABBA Voyage project which has been pulling in fans for almost three years at a purpose-built East London arena.
Mr Fuller has also managed sports stars such as Lewis Hamilton, Andy Murray and cyclist Bradley Wiggins.
