Kriti Mehrotra
When Russia-born Julia Haart left her ultra-orthodox Jewish community in Monsey, New York, to create a different life for herself, she never could’ve imagined the twists and turns she’d have to face. After all, in the past decade, she has gone from a stay-at-home mother of four to a renowned fashion entrepreneur and from the proud co-owner/CEO of Elite World Group to a fired singleton. The most recent developments amidst this, though, have been following the reality star’s separation from her second husband, Silvio Scaglia — so let’s find out more about the same, shall we?
The Reason Behind Julia and Silvio’s Split
As per Julia’s own account on Netflix’s ‘My Unorthodox Life’ season 2, although there was still love between her and her Italian billionaire partner, she had to call it quits after 2½ years of marriage. That’s because not only did Silvio reportedly belittle her throughout their relationship, but her priority was also her children, which she claims he couldn’t adjust to or appreciate in any way, shape, or form. In fact, the then Elite World Group executive stated she felt like she had to choose either her spouse or her kids on a daily basis, driving her to pick those dear to her heart for good in early 2022.
If the aforecited reality series is to be believed, the former couple/co-owners of the esteemed modeling agency had initially decided not to divide any assets so as to avoid a legal mess. However, Silvio then hired a divorce attorney, reportedly blindsided his estranged wife by firing her from the position of CEO, and locked her out of their bank accounts by blocking her use of credit cards. Thus began a (still ongoing) bitter feud, starting with Julia responding by legally filing for divorce within hours to ensure all their marital assets froze, especially since they did not have a prenup.
As if that’s not enough, the Fastweb founder then reportedly filed a motion to access their marital penthouse, Julia’s home, only for the ‘Brazen’ author to request a restraining order against him. In the petition, Julia alleged she’s “scared for my safety and the safety of my children, some of whom reside with me. Over the past several weeks, Respondent has become increasingly volatile, abusive, and unhinged.” She further claimed she’s terrified of Silvio’s presence because he’d gone as far as to threaten the household staff, telling him he’d “clean out” the property in any way he can.
The filing by Julia even states, “Recently, Respondent became increasingly controlling and verbally and emotionally abusive towards me. He has routinely berated me, calling me ‘a venomous snake,’ a ‘monster,’ and a ‘liar,’ in the presence of third parties and, at times, my children. One of Respondent’s favorite epithets is to tell me to ‘go f–k yourself.'”
Then, it assertively adds, “In January 2022, I confronted Respondent about his abusive behavior and told him that if anyone ever heard how he acts and speaks to me, they would think he is a horrible person. In response, Respondent threatened me, stating: ‘If you ever go to the press about how I treat you or the kids, I will kill you.’ He further stated, ‘I will kill you in the public eye. I will destroy your reputation.'”
Julia also referred to Silvio’s association with her children in the petition, stating, “Recently, on January 23, 2022, Respondent came into the bathroom while I was bathing, purple in the face and screaming, ‘I hate your children and I hate this place’… ‘I hate Shabbos [the Sabbath] and I don’t want it in my house.'” She even insisted that “all hell would break loose” if either of her kids or their friends ever came home.
As if that’s not enough, Julia’s daughter Miriam Haart sent in her own affidavit backing the sentiments before alleging an incident wherein she found her mother “crying hysterically” in her bathroom while Silvio was allegedly screaming at her. The youngster penned, “I was afraid for her safety and I seriously considered calling the police. I was terrified that he was hurting her … I ran into the room and found my mother on the bathroom floor, naked, curled up on the floor, and sobbing.”
The culmination of all these instances is what led to Julia and Silvio’s divorce, which is yet to be finalized owing to the extensive legal battles between them in both New York as well as Delaware (the state of Elite Group’s registration). We should mention that while the former has managed to retain complete access to the penthouse, the latter has deemed the allegations against him “baseless personal smear” through a spokesperson.
Moreover, it’s imperative to note even the police got involved due to claims Julia had stolen money and assets (a Bentley car) from Elite, and it has been ruled that her February 2022 firing as CEO was valid since she does not own 50% of the modeling conglomerate — she seemingly only owns 49.9995957%.
Read More: Why Did Batsheva Haart and Ben Weinstein Divorce?
