Ecclestone faces ‘biggest divorce in legal history’

FORMULA ONE boss Bernie Ecclestone was last night facing a multi-billion-pound divorce battle.

Slavica Ecclestone, 50, said she was ending their marriage of 24 years — opening the way for her to claim a massive slice of his £2.4 billion (€2.8bn) fortune).

She will be represented by divorce lawyer Liz Vernon.

Ms Vernon made headlines in 2004 when she represented the wife of Arsenal and England footballer Ray Parlour in their divorce, winning her a deal giving her a third of her ex-husband’s future earnings for four years. A spokeswoman for Mrs Ecclestone said yesterday’s announcement had been prompted by media speculation about the couple’s personal life.

The 6ft 2in former model, who towers 10 inches over the 78-year-old, is entitled to up to half his wealth because of the length of their marriage, sources said.

Julian Ribet, a divorce lawyer at Levison Meltzer Pigott, said yesterday: “This is likely to be the biggest divorce in legal history.”

At her new home overlooking the Thames, Mrs Ecclestone refused to comment on the marriage, asking for her privacy, and that of her their daughters, to be respected.

Born near the Adriatic port of Rijeka in 1958, the daughter of a dock worker, Mrs Ecclestone grew up to become an international fashion model, working for designers including the Italian Giorgio Armani.

She met Mr Ecclestone in 1984 at a Formula One promotional event, but is said not to have known who he was and to have given him a false phone number.

The assets to be contested in an eventual divorce battle include not just the Chelsea house, but a hotel in the Swiss Alpine resort of Gstaad, a yacht and a jet.