Legendary supermodel Linda Evangelista made allegations of abuse against her ex-husband Gérald Marie on the third episode of Apple TV+’s “The Super Models.”
Evangelista married the former head of Elite Model Management in 1987 when she was 22 years old. Marie was 37 years old at the time, according to People. Although Evangelista rose to meteoric fame in her career, she says she was subjected to abuse at home. Evangelista tried hard to hold back tears while recalling the alleged abuse she faced in her relationship with Marie.
“It’s easier said than done to leave an abusive relationship. I understand that concept because I lived it,” she said on the show, per People. “When I found out that he’s hurt many, many, many women, he’s violated many women … It broke my heart,” Evangelista said.
However, Evangelista made it known she had set some boundaries of her own.
“He knew not to touch my face, not to touch the money maker, ya know?” she said. “I married him when I was 22, and I got out when I was 27, and he let me out as long as he got everything. But I was safe, and I got my freedom.”
Evangelista is not the only woman to come forward with allegations of abuse against her ex-husband. A total of 15 women came forward with accusations of rape and sexual assault in 2021, including models Carré Otis, and Karen Mulder, according to People.
“Thanks to the power of all these women coming forward — bless them. God bless all of them — it gave me the courage now to speak,” she said. (Supermodel Linda Evangelista Returns To Modeling After Botched Cosmetic Surgery)
The iconic fashion model made her feelings toward Marie clear.
“I would love that justice be served. I would love for assholes like that to think twice and be afraid. And I would love women to know that they’re not alone.”
French prosecutors closed their criminal investigation of Marie in February 2023, claiming the allegations of abuse dated back to the ’80s and ’90s, and the statute of limitations had passed.
Céline Bekerman, Marie’s Lawyer, told people, “Gérald Marie firmly objects to the defamatory and false allegations made against him. He refuses to participate in this dishonest media controversy.”