Millionaires wife who won landmark pre-nup victory actually left because she was having an AFFAIR
Revealed: Millionaire’s wife who won landmark pre-nup victory left 'because she was having an AFFAIR with her cousin’s husband'
- Elizabeth Cioffi-Petrakis claims her husband coerced her to sign pre-nup
- She admits affair with Steve Houraney husband of her cousin Ailsa
- Mrs Petrakis was maid of honor at the Houraneys' wedding
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A millionaire's wife who blamed their pre-nup for ending her marriage was actually having an affair with her cousin's husband, it was claimed today.
Elizabeth Cioffi-Petrakis, 39, from Long Island, famously got her pre-nup agreement overturned last month after claiming her tycoon husband Peter Petrakis coerced her into accepting it four days before their lavish wedding in June 1998.
But Mrs Cioffi-Petrakis began having an affair with the Steve Houraney, the husband of her then-pregnant cousin Ailsa Houraney in 2007, according to Mrs Houraney.
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Claims: Elizabeth Cioffi-Petrakis, 37, from Long Island, claims her husband Peter Petrakis, 41, coerced her into signing the document four days before their luxury wedding in June 1998
Elizabeth Cioffi-Petrakis claimed she had been forced to sign a pre-nup by her husband Peter four days before their wedding in June 1998
Elizabeth Cioffi-Petrakis is said to have had an affair with Steve Houraney, pictured above, the husband of her then-pregnant cousin Ailsa Houraney in 2007
Mrs Houraney told the New York Post that after the affair was discovered Mrs Cioffi-Petrakis, who had been maid of honor at the Houraneys' wedding: ‘called a meeting of her and my family and admitted everything.'
Mrs Houraney said: 'I want people to know the truth. The prenup didn’t break up her marriage — she did.
‘Liz said, "Steve and I are in love, and you’re going to have to get over it."
‘I felt I got punked by Ashton Kutcher. It was like a bad dream. I said, "Get over it? Get out of my house!"
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Share‘I don’t know why my cousin would ever do this to me. It was very hurtful, it was a betrayal. She destroyed two families and all the kids.’
Alisa Houraney said Mrs Cioffi-Petrakis had bedded her husband, who was the best friend of Peter Petrakis, when the Houraneys were still newlyweds.
Both Mrs Cioffi-Petrakis and Mr Houraney admit the affair, but she denies it ended her marriage, while Mr Houraney said their sexual relationship was 'probably the last nail in the coffin' of the Petrakis' marriage.
Sometimes acting as her own lawyer during the proceedings Mrs Cioffi-Petrakis now heads up her own company called Divorce Prep Experts. She is seen her in a promotional video
Defiant: Mrs Cioffi-Petrakis said her husband promised to 'tear up' the document after the couple had children and vowed to put their Old Brookville home under both their names
Peter Petrakis refused to comment on Alisa Houraney’s claims.
In an 'unprecedented' ruling last month, an appellate panel decided Peter Petrakis, 41, had 'fraudulently induced' his wife to sign and that his 'credibility was suspect.'
Calling the document 'a knife in my heart from Day One,' she testified that Mr Petrakis threatened to cancel the wedding if she didn’t sign the agreement, reported the New York Post.
He made the threat even though her father already paid out $40,000 for their reception.
The agreement stated that Mr Petrakis would keep everything in his name if they split up.
He had transformed a string of smoke shops into a $20 million commercial real-estate empire.
Mrs Cioffi-Petrakis said her husband promised to 'tear up' the document after the couple had children.
He also vowed to put their Old Brookville home under both their names.
But Mrs Cioffi-Petrakis, who is a stay at home mother, said that he failed to carry out his promise, even after they couple had twin sons and a daughter.
Peter Petrakis, left at a Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Long Island event, and right his wife Elizabeth Cioffi-Petrakis
On February 20, a Brooklyn Appellate Court panel unanimously affirmed two Nassau County court decisions, saying Mr Petrakis, 'fraudulently induced' his wife to sign the prenuptial agreement and found his 'credibility to be suspect.'
Elizabeth Cioffi-Petrakis admitted having an affair with her cousin's husband but claimed it did not cause her marriage to end
Mrs Cioffi-Petrakis' lawyer, Dennis D’Antonio said the decision 'is unprecedented, vacating a pre-nup on the basis of a verbal promise,' even though a clause in the contract says there were no verbal promises.
'It resets the bar. It’s an entirely different landscape out there in regard to prenups. I’ve been inundated with calls. Spouses who are challenging pre-nups now have a leg to stand on,' Ms D’Antonio said.
The pair will now begin divorce proceedings.
Sometimes acting as her own lawyer during the proceedings Cioffi-Petrakis now heads up her own company called Divorce Prep Experts which counsels people divorcing with prenuptial agreements.
The company promises to 'help one of the most overlooked groups in our population, those facing divorce.'
In a video posted on the website she is seen holding signs up to the camera reading 'Divorce has robbed me' and 'I am a victim.'
She also appeared on national television after being interviewed on the Anderson Cooper show about her story and her new business.
The case will hold significance for many Americans who are fighting prenupital agreements.
Long-term divorce lawyer Vanessa Lloyd Platt who was not involved in the case said of the ruling: 'This new case however of Elizabeth Cioffi-Petrakis introduces a new principle in America that if there has been a misrepresentation ie he was said to have fraudulently induced the wife to sign the prenup on the basis that he would put the house in her name and would make certain provision for her and did not, it will be set aside.
'What this means is if the husband makes a promise that induces the prenup and does not keep it, it is now open to the American Courts to set aside the prenup. This is very new and very controversial.'
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