Elyse Slaine may not be doing much on Real Housewives Of New York, but it’s a shame because there are so many skeletons in her closet. Dorinda Medley hinted at them on last week’s’ episode, and since I am oh-so-nosy it prompted me to do some digging.
After all, Bravo doesn’t hire the saintly types. Even if Elyse hasn’t officially been hired, you know Bravo wouldn’t give her the time of day if there wasn’t something nefarious to dig into!
Let’s just say the Elyse in the history books of Page Six (once called one of Wall Street’s “most fascinating first wives,”) is far more interesting than the Elyse who is lecturing Leah McSweeney on propriety and alcohol consumption (although to be fairness Tiki Torches McStabby probably does need a good talking-to).
Way back when, Elyse was married to hedge fund manager David Slaine. David worked for Galleon Group. The company disbanded after David pleaded guilty in 2009 to conspiracy and securities fraud. He avoided jail time by turning informant against his boss. Elyse must have gotten some divorce settlement because she spoke out in his defense. You can read about Elyse’s history here (it’s actually an interesting article).
In fact, Elyse happens to live an extraordinarily scandal-plagued life. In 2014 Page Six reported that protests formed outside her Park Avenue apartment building after she abruptly fired her housekeeper/nanny, Marichu De Sesto, for requesting time off for medical reasons. Elyse was also accused of shorting her wages, including overtime.
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“She just doesn’t care — she has no heart at all,” Marichu said of Elyse. Marichu spent 15 years working for. According to Marichu, Elyse told her to pack her bags and leave by the time Elyse returned from a jaunt in the Hamptons. Elyse apparently didn’t care that Marichu may have no other place to go.
Instead of capitulating Marichu contacted Damayan, a migrant worker’s group to help her collect her wages. At the time Elyse’s attorney asserted that Marichu actually quit “after being told that she could not take off a weekend that she had previously agreed to work.”
They argue Marichu actually took her own jaunt off to the Poconos for that weekend. Then, they tried to claim she was fired. The case eventually found itself in NY Labor Court.
Elyse even accused Marichu of antisemitism for using anti-zionists activists to harass and intimidate her. Elyse is Jewish.
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It’s unclear how this eventually resolved itself. Or I am too lazy to go further down the rabbit hole? Elyse moved on to bigger and more upper-crust court matters. This time battling her ex-boyfriend’s children, over what appears to be that very same Park Avenue apartment!
Post-divorce, Elyse, a former financial journalist turned day trader, moved on to Donald Drapkin, the then chairman of Casablanca Capital. Together they purchased a $4.2 million dollar duplex. When they split, Elyse remained in the duplex.
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In 2017 Donald died in a skiing accident. Elyse sued his children to preemptively bar them from trying to seize the apartment! It’s not even clear if they had the intention to… Elyse said Donald intended the apartment for her as a gift. She claimed his sons, who were managing his estate, were trying to prevent this. Two months later, a judge dismissed the case, and she remained in the apartment. She might even still live there today.
Finally, Elyse found happiness with a new man. In 2018 Elyse married Dr. Reinhold Gebert, another money guy but this one has an Ivy League background in science.
Well, I certainly wish Elyse would open up more. She needs to stop being so standoffish and judgmental. Especially given her own history!
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[Photo Credit: Bravo]
