Stands to walk away with $450 million of the actor’s money

Apr 14, 2009 09:50 GMT  ·  By

Robyn Gibson, Mel’s wife of 29 years, filed the papers for what could turn out to be the most expensive divorce in the history of showbiz. The actor and director’s fortune was an estimated $900 million back in 2006, of which Robyn could get half because there was no prenuptial agreement signed when they wed in 1980, as Fox News can confirm.

Several media outlets report that Robyn filed the papers for divorce on Friday, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the cause. The couple has seven children, of which only one is a minor, Tom, aged 10. In court papers, Robyn Gibson is asking for spousal support and joint custody of the boy. At the same time, under California law, she could also get half of everything that Mel currently owns.

Although the reason for divorce is said to be “irreconcilable differences,” word in the media has it that the straw that broke the camel’s back might have been Mel’s rendezvous with a Russian woman named Oksana, with whom he was spotted hugging and kissing on the beach. Oksana, it is said, is Mel’s latest protégée at his music label, and will presumably also appear in his upcoming film.

However, other sources are saying that the marriage of Robyn and Mel came to a standstill right after the actor’s much mediated arrest and drunken outburst, when he launched on a derogatory tirade against Jews and a female police officer. Apparently, the media scrutiny and Gibson’s drunkenness ways eventually took a toll on the marriage – and not even his subsequent visit to rehab and the redeeming media tour could salvage it.

Speculation further has it that Robyn and Gibson have been living separately for two years and some change (other sources claim they have not been a couple in more than three years). Nevertheless, since Robyn said in the papers filed that the “date of separation” is “yet to be determined,” this might as well be just a rumor, it has been pointed out. On a side note, the aforementioned media outlet says, the date of separation is vital when dividing the community property.