Luann & Tom's Divorce: The Slap Heard 'Round the (RH) World

[HunterHunted]

3 hours ago, zoeysmom said:

Luann's ring was 8 carat this one is .44 total carats.  I thought it was estimated to have been $125,000.00.  

Luann seemed quite proud of the fact she still had the ring and that Tom hadn't asked for it back.

I think the big money was spent on the wedding, and I am thinking Luann shelled out a big chunk of change for it.   

Amal Clooney's is 7 carats and cost $750,000, but it was also naturally colored. Given the price, Luann's ring was almost certainly irradiated and then High Pressure High Temperature treated to make the pale yellow appear brighter.* It's done all the time because really brightly colored natural diamonds with no occlusions are rare.

I'm not a family lawyer, but an engangement ring is a conditional gift. If you get married, the receiver gets to keep it. If you don't, the giver gets it back (that's not true in every state). LuAnn and Tom got married. It's hers.

I wonder if Tom and LuAnn went halfsies on the wedding?

*There is essentially no secondary market for diamonds that aren't famous or owned by really famous people. Even if Tom paid $125,000 for that ring, Luann might be able to get 25 or 30% of its purchase price.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/02/have-you-ever-tried-to-sell-a-diamond/304575/

It's an old article, but everything about it is still true. My brother did part of his Ph.D. research on diamonds. When he got engaged, he refused to buy his fiance, now wife, a diamond. She was angry, but he had to remind her that he knew exactly what the true cost of diamonds would be if the market wasn't manipulated. The secondary market is so bad that deBeers has recently gotten into the secondary market because online retailers like "I do, Now I don't" and eBay have highlighted that diamonds aren't really worth anything when resold. The secondary market was impacting deBeers' primary market.

[zoeysmom]

1 minute ago, HunterHunted said:

Amal Clooney's is 7 carats and cost $750,000, but it was also naturally colored. Given the price, Luann's ring was almost certainly irradiated and then High Pressure High Temperature treated to make the pale yellow appear brighter.* It's done all the time because really brightly colored natural diamonds with no occlusions are rare.

I'm not a family lawyer, but an engangement ring is a conditional gift. If you get married, the receiver gets to keep it. If you don't, the giver gets it back (that's not true in every state). LuAnn and Tom got married. It's hers.

I wonder if Tom and LuAnn went halfsies on the wedding?

*There is essentially no secondary market for diamonds that aren't famous or owned by really famous people. Even if Tom paid $125,000 for that ring, Luann might be able to get 25 or 30% of its purchase price.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/02/have-you-ever-tried-to-sell-a-diamond/304575/

It's an old article, but everything about it is still true. My brother did part of his Ph.D. research on diamonds. When he got engaged, he refused to buy his fiance, now wife, a diamond. She was angry, but he had to remind her that he knew exactly what the true cost of diamonds would be if the market wasn't manipulated. The secondary market is so bad that deBeers has recently gotten into the secondary market because online retailers like "I do, Now I don't" and eBay have highlighted that diamonds aren't really worth anything when resold. The secondary market was impacting deBeers' primary market.

 

When I quoted the price it seemed to be a low ball thing.  She seemed happy with it and as you say these prices are all over the place.  Sonja claimed it was "murky" before she ever saw it-so there is that.  When Bethenny bought her engagement ring for around 100k she claimed it was an investment.  She also had a previous engagement ring stolen and said it was worth 30k, of course she recovered it by busting up the Russian Mafia.

I am so out of touch as I would not even consider part of my net worth tied to an engagement ring. Nor do I think Luann does.  Thanks for the info-it just cements what I have always believed.    

[Lemons]

45 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

 

I wonder if Tom and LuAnn went halfsies on the wedding?

*There is essentially no secondary market for diamonds that aren't famous or owned by really famous people. Even if Tom paid $125,000 for that ring, Luann might be able to get 25 or 30% of its purchase price.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/02/have-you-ever-tried-to-sell-a-diamond/304575/

It's an old article, but everything about it is still true. My brother did part of his Ph.D. research on diamonds. When he got engaged, he refused to buy his fiance, now wife, a diamond. She was angry, but he had to remind her that he knew exactly what the true cost of diamonds would be if the market wasn't manipulated. The secondary market is so bad that deBeers has recently gotten into the secondary market because online retailers like "I do, Now I don't" and eBay have highlighted that diamonds aren't really worth anything when resold. The secondary market was impacting deBeers' primary market.

 

The whole diamond market is a disgrace. From blood diamonds to wealthy countries destroying poorer countries for the diamonds, to artificially inflating the rarity of these rocks. Good for your brother. I find it so gross when women show off their diamonds like, look!  Someone spent a stupid amount of money just for me!  Don't want to hear about certified blood free diamonds. No such thing. 

So, is Luann famous enough to sell her tacky diamond?

 I wonder why second hand diamonds lose so much money.  They don't get outdated or worn. They are the same as the ones at the store. Plus you know the stores sell second hand as new. How would anyone know?  

Edited September 23, 2017 by Lemons

[HunterHunted]

On 9/23/2017 at 4:56 PM, zoeysmom said:

When I quoted the price it seemed to be a low ball thing.  She seemed happy with it and as you say these prices are all over the place.  Sonja claimed it was "murky" before she ever saw it-so there is that.  When Bethenny bought her engagement ring for around 100k she claimed it was an investment.  She also had a previous engagement ring stolen and said it was worth 30k, of course she recovered it by busting up the Russian Mafia.

I am so out of touch as I would not even consider part of my net worth tied to an engagement ring. Nor do I think Luann does.  Thanks for the info-it just cements what I have always believed.    

I think $125K sounds about right. I don't think Lu is dumb enough to consider jewelry as real money.  She's not Liz Taylor and Lu wears a ton of costume jewelry.

Sonja's jealousy said the diamond looked murky.

Russian mob? Really Bethenny?!?

On 9/23/2017 at 5:24 PM, Lemons said:

The whole diamond market is a disgrace. From blood diamonds to wealthy countries destroying poorer countries for the diamonds, to artificially inflating the rarity of these rocks. Good for your brother. I find it so gross when women show off their diamonds like, look!  Someone spent a stupid amount of money just for me!  Don't want to hear about certified blood free diamonds. No such thing. 

So, is Luann famous enough to sell her tacky diamond?

 I wonder why second hand diamonds lose so much money.  They don't get outdated or worn. They are the same as the ones at the store. Plus you know the stores sell second hand as new. How would anyone know?  

Neither Lu nor Bethenny nor any of these ho's is famous enough to have her celebrity prevent the "depreciation" of her jewelry. Second hand diamonds don't lose money. That lower price is actually a lot closer to the true price of diamonds if there was no market manipulation. The stores frequently resell previously owned diamonds. Basically all of these companies including De Beers are sitting on mountains of diamonds that they are trying to figure out how to market and sell.

Edited September 25, 2017 by HunterHunted

[WireWrap]

44 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

I think $125K sounds about right. I don't think Lu is dumb enough to consider jewelry as real money.  She's not Liz Taylor and Lu wears a ton of costume jewelry.

Sonja's jealousy said the diamond looked murky.

Russian mob? Really Bethenny?!?

Neither Lu nor Bethenny nor any of these ho's is famous enough to have her celebrity prevent the "depreciation" of her jewelry. Second hand diamonds don't lose money. That lower price is actually a lot closer to the true price of diamonds if there were no market manipulation. The stores frequently resell previously owned diamonds. Basically all of these companies including De Beers are sitting on mountains of diamonds that they are trying to figure out how to market and sell.

Diamonds are THE most common gem on earth and the diamond market is controlled, world wide, by 5 families (including De Beers). A colored diamond is a flawed diamond by nature, it has other minerals in it that cause it to have color, it something that has only been really popular in the last 10 or so years, before then, white (colorless) diamonds were the rage. And, as you pointed out in a previous post, most diamonds, white/color, are irradiated to increase their color/lack of color intensity. About 8 or 9 years ago, the US government made major jewelry store chains refund some money for price fixing on engagement rings, about 10-15 % of the total diamond cost was refunded to anyone that bought an E ring in a 2-3 year span in certain chain stores. 

I hope Luann has the ring reset into a pendant, it would be stunning as a pendant with other semi precious gems surrounding it. LOL

[hoodooznoodooz]

Did we ever find out why Jacques and Lu ended their relationship? Because I'm watching the (first?) Kristin season, and Jacques is accompanying Lu to a lot of events. This is post-pirate. 

[HunterHunted]

They apparently divorced now.

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/luann-de-lesseps-finalizes-divorce-from-tom-dagostino-w507089

[KungFuBunny]

51 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

They apparently divorced now.

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/luann-de-lesseps-finalizes-divorce-from-tom-dagostino-w507089

Is it just me that this sounds super fishy?

How do you settle out of court and not go through the court system to "divorce". The only way I can see this happening is if they were never married by a legal officiant or the papers were never signed and sent in.

You simply can not divorce this quickly in NY even if it is UNcontested by both parties.

Edited to add: Wait, maybe I'm wrong - the wedding ceremony was in Florida  - I thought even uncontested divorces in Florida take a minimum of 3 months

Edited October 4, 2017 by KungFuBunny

[Mrs peel]

1 hour ago, KungFuBunny said:

Is it just me that this sounds super fishy?

How do you settle out of court and not go through the court system to "divorce". The only way I can see this happening is if they were never married by a legal officiant or the papers were never signed and sent in.

You simply can not divorce this quickly in NY even if it is UNcontested by both parties.

Edited to add: Wait, maybe I'm wrong - the wedding ceremony was in Florida  - I thought even uncontested divorces in Florida take a minimum of 3 months

The "settled out of court" probably just refers to the fact that they agreed to the terms, as opposed to having a contested hearing (which can take a long time, see Bethenny).   I'm not a lawyer in NY, but a bit of googling showed lawyers saying an uncontested divorce could be done in as little as 6 weeks.  If we assume both parties entered appearances (didn't they both file?), then there is/was no need to wait 28-30 days (don't know the NY specific requirement) for the defendant to file an appearance/answer.  And if they agreed on terms (and what was there really to fight about in such a short marriage?), the only wait is how busy the court was.

The only hitch I could see was that irreconcilable differences mentions a 6 month breakdown of the marriage...heck, that's from almost the date of the marriage for them!

[gundysgirl]

I looked up uncontested divorce in Florida, and it looks like it can be accomplished in a matter of a few weeks. 

[biakbiak]

4 hours ago, gundysgirl said:

I looked up uncontested divorce in Florida, and it looks like it can be accomplished in a matter of a few weeks. 

They filed for divorce in NY so Florida law has nothing to do with it. That said nowhere does that article say the divorce was finalized, it says it's almost done so they agreed to terms and are waiting for the final decree from the court.

[KungFuBunny]

19 hours ago, Mrs peel said:

The "settled out of court" probably just refers to the fact that they agreed to the terms, as opposed to having a contested hearing (which can take a long time, see Bethenny).   I'm not a lawyer in NY, but a bit of googling showed lawyers saying an uncontested divorce could be done in as little as 6 weeks.  If we assume both parties entered appearances (didn't they both file?), then there is/was no need to wait 28-30 days (don't know the NY specific requirement) for the defendant to file an appearance/answer.  And if they agreed on terms (and what was there really to fight about in such a short marriage?), the only wait is how busy the court was.

The only hitch I could see was that irreconcilable differences mentions a 6 month breakdown of the marriage...heck, that's from almost the date of the marriage for them!

I know plenty of people who have divorced in NY, some uncontested and it took 1 1/2 years to finalize their divorce. You can not file due to "irreconcilable differences" under NY law - that is not "grounds" for divorce in NY like it is in California. You also have to live separately for a time period (the few I knew lived apart for 9 months). Tom filed in August - it just reached the 2 month mark of living separately unless Luann changes her tune and comes out to say they've been living apart since January 1st.

Shortly after Luann got married it was reported that she was coming out with a new song. This was in her honeymoon phase. Recently I heard that her new single is about her divorce. What is she thinking?

[ryebread]

Whatever happened to the quickie Mexican/Brazilian/something or other divorce we used to hear about? Rich people would just boot on down south and end their marriages in a matter of days.

[Mrs peel]

On ‎10‎/‎5‎/‎2017 at 9:46 AM, KungFuBunny said:

I know plenty of people who have divorced in NY, some uncontested and it took 1 1/2 years to finalize their divorce. You can not file due to "irreconcilable differences" under NY law - that is not "grounds" for divorce in NY like it is in California. You also have to live separately for a time period (the few I knew lived apart for 9 months). Tom filed in August - it just reached the 2 month mark of living separately unless Luann changes her tune and comes out to say they've been living apart since January 1st.

Shortly after Luann got married it was reported that she was coming out with a new song. This was in her honeymoon phase. Recently I heard that her new single is about her divorce. What is she thinking?

"Irretrievable breakdown in relationship for a period of at least 6 months" is one of the grounds in NY, that's what I referred to as irreconcilable differences.  Yes, there's a separation period.  Again I don't know NY specifically, but where I practiced couples could state they lived separate and apart while still living in the same home.  And the simple fact is, if the divorce is agreed, it's highly unlikely a Judge will challenge the agreed to statement that the marriage has been broken for 6 months.  We know what Luann was saying publically, but if the divorce is agreed no one will even mention those out of court statements.

I used to handle divorces (not in NY) and I can only tell you that every single divorce is different.  What one couple did doesn't mean anything for the next case.  A truly "uncontested" divorce taking 1.5 years?  Sounds to me like something was contested, or "being worked out," or there were other reasons not to finalize more quickly (taxes being one possibility). 

Quote

Whatever happened to the quickie Mexican/Brazilian/something or other divorce we used to hear about? Rich people would just boot on down south and end their marriages in a matter of days.

It wasn't just the rich, my mother and father got a Mexican divorce back in the day (when it was almost impossible to obtain a divorce in NY).  There were Mexican vacation divorces, some complete with the second/third marriage ceremony thrown in.  I think once NY changed its laws, they just stopped being necessary/useful.

[film noire]

Luann's former husband tangling with Martha, Bethenny's former Apprentice host:

[biakbiak]

27 minutes ago, film noire said:

Luann's former husband tangling with Martha, Bethenny's former Apprentice host:

 

The Pie plate has since been returned. Though to be fair to Tom in the original article the author took the blame for it night being returned.

[film noire]

25 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

The Pie plate has since been returned. Though to be fair to Tom in the original article the author took the blame for it night being returned.

OUR LONG NATIONAL NIGHTMARE IS OVER!! : )

(Real estate porn: Stewart paid 125.00 a month back in 1961; adjusting for inflation, that's 1,035.51 in buying power today.)

Edited November 13, 2017 by film noire

[biakbiak]

11 minutes ago, film noire said:

Real estate porn: Stewart paid 125.00 a month back in 1961; adjusting for inflation, that's 1,035.51 in buying power today.)

In the original article she stated that they got such a good deal because the apartment was owned by the father of her then husband's friend.

[LIMOM]

That view is to die for!

[BBHN]

Quote

Is it just me that this sounds super fishy?

Given how fishy the engagement, marriage, and relationship in general were, why should the divorce be any different?