14 DAY TRIAL // Actress Melanie Griffith filed for divorce from husband of 18 years Antonio Banderas almost 2 weeks ago but, until the other day, she still offered fans hope for a reconciliation (albeit unknowingly) by not removing her wedding band from her finger.
That final ray of hope has gone, as photos over at the Daily Mail can confirm.
“Though she still wore her wedding band just days later when visiting a hair salon in Beverly Hills, the 56-year-old actress went ring-free on Monday when arriving in Italy for the Taormina Film Festival along with her publicist Robin Baum. The star held onto a cup of coffee as she exited a Maserati with sunglasses on,” the British tab says.
Because she was holding the coffee cup with her left hand, the paparazzi had the perfect chance for the so-called money shot: a clear photo of her now-ringless hand, which came as solid confirmation that Melanie had finally given up hope on the marriage. Fans speculated that she might still believe she and Antonio could work things out for as long as she kept the ring on.
Further confirmation also came when she walked the red carpet at the event and she had the “Antonio” on her arm tattoo covered with foundation. She’s probably planning to have it lasered off, which was to be expected: if Antonio is no longer part of her life, there’s no point in having his name encircled in a heart on her arm.
Antonio and Melanie were married for 18 years and have one daughter together, who turns 18 this fall. Melanie is asking for spousal support and sole custody and, as we learned yesterday, she also wants custody of her and Antonio’s 3 dogs.
While neither has said anything about the reasons that made them decide divorce was their best option, word has it that Antonio’s wandering eye and Melanie’s long history with drug and alcohol addiction were partly responsible.
Reports online indicate that things have been bad for these two for at least a couple of years, peaking when Melanie checked back into rehab after a major relapse. The relapse was admittedly caused by finding out that Antonio had been cheating on her for years, whenever he got the chance.
No word yet on whether they have a prenup but, if they don’t, expect the divorce proceedings to drag on for a very long time because, in the 18 years they were married, these two made a lot of money – and invested most of it and made a major profit.
Estimates indicate that they’re probably worth together about $50 million (€36.9 million), but the actual amount could be higher. They have most of their money in real estate all over the world, including restaurants in various cities.