Phil Collins has sensationally revealed that he is back with his third wife, Orianne Cevey, six years after paying her £25million in their divorce – at the time Britain’s biggest ever settlement.
The reunion comes after their highly-publicised divorce in 2008 – and after Orianne married investment banker Charles Mejjati.
The 64-year-old rocker has admitted that he is surprised ‘nobody has noticed’ his reconciliation with Orianne, 42, after living with her for six months in Miami.
The Swiss translator, philanthropist and jewellery designer was left using a wheelchair after she was partially paralysed due to complications with a 2014 surgery to treat a slipped disc in her neck, but she is now walking again after rehabilitation.
Speaking to Billboard, he said: ‘I’m back with my third wife – I haven’t really talked about it. We’ve been together for a while, and nobody’s noticed.’
Collins moved back to America last year from his home in Switzerland to be closer to the couple’s two sons – Matthew, 14, and Nicholas, 10 – after problems with alcoholism, which stemmed from the divorce.
The pair tied the knot in 1999 in a lavish three-day ceremony that cost £300,000, and included guests such as Elton John and Eric Clapton.
They bought racing driver Jackie Stewart’s old house in Bugnins, near Geneva, for an estimated £20million before announcing their split in 2006. They later divorced in 2008.
The Collins’ welcomed their two sons during their marriage, expanding Phil’s family: he was previously married twice before and has spent a staggering £42million on his divorces.
From his first marriage to drama student Andrea Bertorelli in 1975 – which ended in 1980 – he has son Simon Collins, and he also adopted his wife’s daughter Joely.
With his second wife Jill Tavelman, he had daughter Lily Collins – a well-known Hollywood actress and model. He and Jill tied the knot in 1984 after meeting in 1980, but they divorced in 1996.
Meanwhile, Collins’ huge divorce payout to his third wife Orianne was the biggest in Britain at the time, topping the £24.3 million that was awarded to Heather Mills in her split from Sir Paul McCartney.
It wasn’t the first time the former Genesis star, who is now sober and in much better health, had made a big pay out to an ex-wife.
The star paid second wife Jill £17 million after allegedly finishing their relationship by fax in 1994.
In the time between their divorce and reunion last year, both moved on with other partners: Collins famously dated US news anchor Dana Tyler but they split in 2015 after four years together.
Orianne also remarried and, according to the rocker, the reason she moved with sons Nicholas and Matthew to Miami is because her new husband Charles didn’t like living in Switzerland.
In March 2011, Orianne welcomed a son called Andrea Ryan Kylian with Charles – their first together, her third.
Speaking to The Daily Mail in 2014, and discussing his brush with death with acute pancreatitis – caused by his heavy drinking – he said of Orianne and their sons: “We had a fantastic little set-up. I was living in Switzerland, ten minutes away from the kids.
“Used to pick ’em up all the time, used to go round for dinner with the ex-wife.
“And she’d remarried, which was fine. We got on, me and the husband. But he didn’t like Switzerland, so they moved to Miami.
‘And, really, retiring – well, not working – and not having the kids, I guess left a big void.”
It is not known if Orianne and Mejjati are still married.
Collins remained close to his former spouse over the years, not just personally but professionally, working together on their charity organisation.
They founded The Little Dreams Foundation in 2000 in Switzerland and, now based in Florida, its mission statement is to ‘fulfil the dreams of young aspiring talents without financial means to achieve their goals’.
Meanwhile, at the end of 2014, Orianne was left paralysed after an operation to treat a slipped disc in her neck.
Meanwhile, in a recent interview with The Times’ Will Hodgkinson, the In The Air Tonight singer opened up about the effect the split from Orianne had on him, and how it led to him drowning his sorrows by hitting the bottle.
He confessed: “There was a massive hole in my life, which I filled with a lot of drinking.’
“At eleven in the morning I would put the television on, watch the cricket, and open a bottle of wine. And then I would drink vodka, and that doesn’t agree with your pancreas.’
Such was the destructive path he was on that a Swiss doctor asked if he had his ‘papers in order’.
While it was the absence of his family that put him on his downward spiral, it was the thought of his worried sons which prompted him to conquer his demons.
He said: “With the drinking I saw that my kids got worried. I was taking pills for one thing or another, then I’d fall down the stairs. Now I’ve given up and family life is so much better.”
Collins also revealed that back surgery, nerve damage and multiple foot fractures have left him feeling like he’s walking “on sticks,” but despite his health issues his kids are hoping to see him perform again.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be fit enough to play the drums again on tour,” said Collins. “My left arm has changed – it’s a neural thing. The back surgery I had was great – I mean, how good can surgery be? But it was problem-free. But then when I was recovering on crutches, I fell and fractured my foot. When I recovered from foot surgery, I fell again and fractured another part of the same foot. My right foot now is completely numb.”
He continued, “It could be a year or three months to get feeling back – I have no idea. But my kids want me to do shows so they can brag to their friends. I intend on doing some things. I stopped going into the studio because I was sad, but now I’m getting a taste of it again.”
