For Julia Haart and estranged husband Silvio Scaglia Haart, relationship drama doesn’t end with divorce.
Us Weekly confirmed that the Russia native filed to end her marriage on February 9, two years after she and the entrepreneur tied the knot. Days later, Page Six reported that Julia submitted a petition for a restraining order against the Fastweb founder, alleging she felt “terrified” of him.
“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 [his] favorite epithets is to tell me to ‘go f–k yourself,'” her petition claimed. “In January 2022, I confronted [Silvio] 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, [he] threatened me, stating: ‘If you ever go to the press about how I treat you or the kids, I will kill you.'”
Julia alleged that she “experienced severe emotional distress” throughout her relationship and because of Silvio’s supposed verbal abuse. Her daughter Miriam, whom she shares with ex-husband Yosef Hendler, provided a statement of her own, claiming that she once found her mom “crying hysterically” in their home.
“I was afraid for her safety and I seriously considered calling the police,” Miriam alleged, per Page Six. “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.”
Along with Miriam, the My Unorthodox Life star shares Batsheva, Shlomo and Aron with Hendler. The former couple wed when Julia was 19, calling it quits as she left their strict Jewish community. In her petition, Julia alleged that Silvio insulted her youngest son over his religious beliefs.
“Recently, on January 23, 2022, [Silvio] 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.'”
The fashion mogul continued: “I have become an emotional wreck for fear of him returning to my home at any time of the day or night. Recently, he summarily and without cause dismissed me from our jointly owned business, cut off my credit cards and made baseless allegations against me.”
Ahead of the pair’s split, Julia was made the CEO of Silvio’s model and talent agency, Elite World Group, joking to The New York Times that she was “horrible” to him while they worked together.
“But I had a lot of respect for him,” Julia told the outlet in July 2021. “As sheltered as my life had been, his life had been the diametric opposite. He’d been everywhere. He’d seen everything. And when I yelled at him, he took it like a man. That made me happy.”
Scroll down for everything to know about the duo’s messy divorce so far:
Speculation swirled in late 2021 that the pair had called it quits, but a source denied the rumors to Us at the time. Courtesy of Julia Haart/Instagram
Us confirmed that Julia filed for divorce on February 9 after two years of marriage. Courtesy of Julia Haart/Instagram
After their breakup made headlines, a source told Us that season 2 of the family's Netflix series had already started production — and "cameras will have captured everything." Courtesy of Netflix
The designer was axed from Silvio's company, with Us confirming that an internal memo was sent to staff before the pair's split news broke. According to an insider, Julia was "blindsided" by the move and was "working with her attorney to see what can be done." Courtesy of Silvio Scaglia Haart/Instagram
One day after Julia filed to end her marriage, a complaint accused her of making "illegal withdrawals" from the EWG bank account after she was informed of the board's plans to fire her. According to docs obtained by Us, the move "breached a January 19, 2022 agreement between her and Silvio Scaglia," under which the duo signed off on a $250,000 limit on withdrawals "other than to cover a mortgage, rent, and current living expenditures." Silvio is seeking "(a) return of the converted funds; (b) damages for [Julia's] conversion, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty; and (c) a declaration of constructive trust over the $850,000," per the docs. Courtesy of Julia Haart/Instagram
Page Six reported that Julia filed a petition for a restraining order on February 10, alleging that Silvio threatened her life. Her estranged husband grew "increasingly volatile, abusive and unhinged," the paperwork claimed, noting that Silvio allegedly told Julia, "I will kill you in the public eye." Courtesy of Julia Haart/Instagram
As Julia's restraining order claims made headlines, a rep for Silvio responded in a statement to Us, alleging, "This is just another day in the life of an aspiring reality TV star, aiming to divert the attention from the factual misappropriation claim just filed against her." The tech CEO and his team "are not aware of any restraining order being sought in court," according to a source. "To their knowledge, he has not been served with any motion seeking a restraining order and they are not aware of any grounds for such an order." Courtesy of Julia Haart/Instagram
The Brazen author filed another petition against her estranged spouse in February 2022 in Delaware, alleging that Silvio acted out of "vindictiveness and avarice on the eve" of her divorce filing and "blatantly" ignored "proper corporate governance." Netflix (2)
“The claims against Julia Haart are not based in fact and an attempt for Silvio Scaglia to take the attention off of his own history of failed investments [La Perla, Babelgum, Yewno],” Julia’s attorney, Marty Singer, said in a statement to Us in February 2022. “In fact, the company still owned by Scaglia that has any value is the company that was run by Haart, who took over the operations of the business and as a result its valuation has increased over 5 times from $90 million to $500 million. The account that is the basis of a lawsuit is a jointly owned account, and the same account that Mr. Scaglia used to pay his own divorce lawyers. Earlier today Julia filed an action in the Delaware Court of Chancery to address the actions taken by Mr. Scaglia, including her unauthorized purported termination.” Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
"We are not going to respond to the multiple falsehoods and baseless personal smears in Ms. Haart's Delaware lawsuit except to put faith in the court to determine the facts and the law," a spokesperson for Silvio told Us in a statement on February 14. "We will note, however, that it seems Ms. Haart has not taken the time to read the company's governing documents as to who owns the stock that controls the company." The reality star's "baseless action cannot divert attention" from Silvio's own lawsuit against her regarding her alleged withdrawal of money from the company's bank account, the statement continued. "We will have more to say in the future about the need for Ms. Haart to be held legally accountable for such allegedly illegal misappropriation of company funds." Courtesy Silvio Scaglia/Instagram
According to a source, Silvio "will not dignify or go to the level" of his estranged wife amid their split. "Mr. Scaglia has lived a life of respect for members of all religions, including Judaism and the Jewish tradition and history. Any suggestion or innuendo to the contrary has no factual basis and cannot be taken seriously," the insider claimed. There's "a real possibility" that Julia's "alleged act of theft will end up being referred [to] criminal authorities for investigation and, if justified, prosecution," the source claimed to Us, adding, "Someone who is guilty of theft and stealing money from a company without authority and for improper personal purposes can be guilty of a crime." Courtesy Silvio Scaglia/Instagram
Us exclusively confirmed in March 2022 that Silvio filed a complaint against Julia, alleging that she stole a $401,500 Bentley, owned by Elite World Group following her termination from the company one month prior. Silvio reported the car stolen on March 4 after giving Julia seven days to return the vehicle herself since she was “unauthorized” to use it after being let go from his company. Julia could be charged with a misdemeanor for "unauthorized use of a vehicle" for still having the Bentley in her possession. A source close to the situation told Us at the time that the NYPD doesn’t plan to arrest her, but they would issue her a summons to appear in court on the charge of theft. Shutterstock; Netflix
Silvio claimed that his estranged wife used corporate assets as a "personal piggy bank" in court documents obtained by Us in February 2022, claiming that she spent more than $2 million of company money in 2021. The complaint specifically alleges that Julia used the money to pay for designer clothes and shoes, luxury vacations and cosmetic procedures and frequently charged personal expenses on her company credit card. The filing also contained a letter listing reasons why Julia was fired as CEO, claiming that she caused "steep losses" to the corporation's revenue and was unable to fulfill her obligations. "I and Mr. Scaglia believe that Ms. Haart’s conduct and excessive spending on herself has abused the trust of EWG, E1972, and Freedom Holding," Silvio's spokesman said in a statement to Us after the complaint was filed. "Now we will trust the justice system in New York to determine the right result and, if the evidence supports it, to hold Ms. Haart accountable." Shutterstock; Inset: Netflix
In April 2022, Julia reflected on the legal back and forth with Silvio during a candid interview with Entertainment Tonight. "It's obviously not the way it was planned," she said of her breakup. "But I learned in my life that every time I think to myself, 'OK Julia, you're strong, you've proven yourself,' I feel like something comes along and says, 'No, you're not done yet. You have a ways to go, you still think men know more than you, you still are seeking their approval.' I'm still a work in progress." The businesswoman went on to call her estranged husband's claims "ridiculous," adding, "Honestly, what I can say, is these are genuinely ludicrous allegations. I've never taken a penny that doesn't belong to me, and the beauty of knowing the truth is you know the truth, and to me, it's just another battle that I have to face to fight for my freedom. Obviously, I can't get into the details. All I can say is [that] I've prevailed so far. I will continue to fight until I prevail, and hopefully there's purpose in all this suffering. Hopefully, I become stronger and independent, and I realize that I don't need men. That would be nice, to make that realization. I'm not there yet, I got to get there." RCF/MEGA
In May 2022, Silvio's lawyer challenged Netflix's right to continue filming My Unorthodox Life amid their current legal battles. Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
In a lawsuit filed in June 2022, Haart alleged that Silvio withdrew $1.5 million from the account holding Haart's CEO salary. He allegedly convinced the former EWG CEO to skip a traditional salary in favor of paying 2 percent of EWG's annual gross revenue to the parent company, FHI, also owned by the former couple. She alleges that she agreed he could have access to the account and understood he needed cash, but she never expected him to claim he had complete control over the account. She also alleges that she agreed to forgo an employment contract because her then-fiancé duped her into thinking they each owned 50 percent of FHI — only to find out her husband had complete control. "While he holds himself out to the media and others as a billionaire, in truth, Scaglia’s so-called wealth is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Haart’s indentured servitude must be remedied," the suit alleges. "It cannot be that a man can convince his wife to give up millions in dollars in salary and benefits, plus an employment contract at the peak of her career (along with the security and independence that come with those things) and then leave her with nothing when his bait-and-switch is revealed." Courtesy of Netflix
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