Petra Ecclestone’s ‘abusive’ husband James Stunt leaves couple’s £75m home in his Rolls Royce as bitter £5bn divorce rumbles on
THE bleary-eyed estranged husband of Bernie Ecclestone's daughter Petra leaves their plush marital home in the back of a Rolls Royce after a judge ordered him out.
Clutching cat ornaments and puffing a cig, millionaire James Stunt was ferried out of the £75million West London mansion after a court bust up yesterday.
Stunt, 35, called Formula One supremo Bernie a “c***” during a hearing as part of the couple's £5billion divorce battle.
He appeared to make a gun gesture before he barged into Bernie, 86, and stormed out of the High Court giving the finger to photographers.
Bernie marched after him before Recorder Richard Anelay urged him to sit down.
The judge — who did not appear to hear Stunt’s muttered expletive — said: “Please don’t do that sort of thing in court.”
The Central Family Court heard Petra moved out of the couple’s house in February.
She now wants to move back in, her lawyer David Williams QC said.
Mr Williams claimed Stunt had admitted allegations of abusive conduct and “overdoses” and had described them as “regrettable”.
He added that Stunt had behaved in a "disgraceful" way recently, but the court heard that Stunt "strongly disputes" his wife's allegations.
The Ecclestone family’s Bambino Trust own the mansion the couple had been living in.
The family had bought the house for £75million, spending £25million to add a new wing featuring a pool, gym and underground car park.
The judge ordered Stunt, who muttered and threw his arms around throughout the 90-minute hearing, to be out by tomorrow.
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Recorder Anelay said: “Petra should be restored to the former matrimonial home forthwith.
"He'd like to be there too, but - and I'm not making any judgements - it's unlikely they could live in peace together at that property."
Making his retreat this afternoon, Stunt was driven out in the back of his Roller emblazoned with the licence plate 57UNT.
Drivers were seen taking away his Lamborghini supercars, with golf clubs resting in the passenger seat of one.
The couple had signed a prenuptial agreement worth £16million, with Stunt's own assets including a wine collection worth millions of pounds.
Other assets expected to be fought over include a multi-million pound mansion in Los Angeles.
The court heard that Stunt, worth £16million, “strongly disputes” allegations made by his wife.
In a statement last night he said: “I ask that Petra and I are given time and space to work through our difficulties.
"If our marriage were to fail it would be a tragedy.
"The situation is deeply upsetting for us and for our families.”
The couple had reportedly met on a blind date in 2006, marrying five years later in a swish ceremony at Odescalchi Castle in Rome.
The bride had worn a £80,000 Vera Wang dress, with the ceremony reportedly costing £12million.
A further two-day hearing is scheduled for October.
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