BRITAIN’S richest divorcee has been left heartbroken after her boyfriend died from a stroke two years after she found love again.
Former Miss UK Kirsty Bertarelli became Britain’s richest divorcee when she split from Swiss-Italian billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli with a £350million settlement four years ago.
Kirsty Bertarelli and Marc were often seen being loved-up on Instagram
Getty Images – GettyKirsty Bertarelli poses for a portrait ahead of her performance supporting Mick Hucknall and Simply Red at Edinburgh Castle on July 17, 2010[/caption]
Getty – ContributorErnesto Bertarelli and his now ex wife, Kirsty on their superyacht, The Vava II, in 2017[/caption]
The 54-year-old managed to find love again, finding happiness with her boyfriend Marc.
Two years ago, the love-struck pair made a debut at a birthday celebration in Sardinia.
But tragedy has struck, with the songwriter penning a heart-felt tribute to her partner on Instagram earlier this month.
Kirsty shared a clip of a song she wrote in his memory.
She captioned the post: “Dearest Marc – I loved you more than words can say and I still love you and always will.
“My beautiful soul connection… what we went through no one will understand or comprehend but by writing this song for you… we did good baby – we did good.
“I can only thank you so so much for being so kind when I needed love and god you did.
“You’re a total Angel – that stays forever in my heart – gives me so much pain but the love you gave me is worth every single moment of heartbreak and you made me stronger than I ever thought possible. Dear Marc I love you.”
She revealed to her followers that he had suffered “a massive stroke”.
Kirsty also won a £52m house in Switzerland as part of her divorce settlement with her billionaire ex husband.
Staffordshire-born Kirsty revealed her new boyfriend at their joint birthday party in Sardinia in 2023.
The former Miss UK, who was behind All Saints’ hit single Black Coffee, sang for her new partner at the event.
The couple are understood to have been together for some time – with Kirsty crooning: “You give me butterflies”.
Taking to Instagram, she wrote: “Stepping forward in harmony – in the moment just you and me – taking in life’s beauty in perfect synchronicity.
“Sometimes the stars are aligned – you held my hand and made me shine.
“Sometimes in life you’re given a second chance. Don’t let go, just be strong.
“Love knows no bounds when it’s pure and sweet – stable as the ground beneath your feet. Thank you babe.”
A guest at the party also described their relationship as “true romance”, adding that there “wasn’t a dry eye in the house” as she performed for him.
Kirsty and ex-hubby Ernesto were jointly ranked 14th place in the Sunday Times Rich List, worth an estimated £9.2billion.
The former couple did not disclose the size of Mrs Bertarelli’s payout, but it was widely reported she accepted a cool £350m deal.
They met at a dinner party in Sardinia, before he would go on to buy her a £100m superyacht for her 40th birthday.
Kirsty, meanwhile, was awarded the Miss UK crown in 1988, and was second runner-up in that year’s Miss World pageant.
The sum made her Britain’s richest divorcee in legal history – winning just short of the Queen’s estimated fortune of around £365m.
In addition to her settlement, Kirsty was given a modern house by Lake Geneva in Switzerland, bought for a whopping £52m.
She also owns an £8million chalet in the Swiss ski resort of Gstaad.
The pin-up brunette was represented by Baroness Fiona Shackleton, the lawyer who represented Prince Charles and Sir Paul McCartney in their divorces.
kirstybertarelli/Instagram..Kirsty unveiled her new boyfriend while at a birthday party[/caption]
GettyKirsty pictured in 2019 attending a charity gala in Geneva, Switzerland[/caption]
£11bn wannabe Meet Kirsty Bertarelli, the former beauty queen turned UK’s richest woman who just wants to be a pop star
By Amy Jones
SHE is the former beauty queen from Staffordshire who was yesterday crowned once more – as Britain’s richest woman.
Kirsty Bertarelli is worth more than the Queen, pop superstar Adele and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling combined, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.
She was the horsey, tennis-loving English rose who became worth a very, very pretty penny after marrying Swiss bio-tech tycoon Ernesto, 51 — and has now swapped jodhpurs for a private jet and a superyacht.
The pair have a tidy £11.5BILLION — making them Britain’s sixth most loaded couple and Kirsty top lass.
But Kirsty’s looks and her husband’s fortune cannot buy the wannabe singer- songwriter the one thing she craves — pop stardom.
While she could sit back with a cocktail on her £100million yacht — which Ernesto bought her for her 40th birthday — Kirsty instead tours the UK in a humble van, gigging in bars and other small music venues.
She says of her life: “So many people would just go off on their yacht and spend their life drinking champagne, but not me. You should grasp life. Singing has been inside me my whole life and I can’t not do it.”
Not that she minds a bit of the high life. She and Ernesto — they met at a dinner party in Sardinia — flit between an £8million estate in Swiss ski resort Gstaad, a £10million Geneva pad and a £10million pile in London’s Belgravia.
Instagram holiday snaps from Dubai, Mustique and the Solomon Islands add to the glamour. She has a private jet at her disposal, as well as a fleet of limos, while her wardrobe is bursting with Dior, Chanel and Armani.
But, in 2013, Kirsty hit the road in a tour van.
She began writing songs in the mid-1990s, after moving to London.
And while you cannot knock her for trying — she has released six albums and a Christmas EP — her biggest hit to date was for someone else.
Girl group All Saints’ fifth and final No1 single in the UK, 2000 release Black Coffee, was reworked from a song Kirsty wrote — I Wouldn’t Want To Be, about her fledgling relationship with Ernesto.
She says: “Hearing my song on the radio brought mixed emotions. I have to be thankful to All Saints — they could make it No1 — but I knew the emotions behind the song.
“I wanted to sing it because there had been real meaning behind it, which was my love for Ernesto.”
Her debut album, Elusive, entered the Swiss charts at No20 and in 2010 her song Green was chosen as the anthem of the Worldwide Fund For Nature.
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
