They've bickered
over whether she knew he was gay, whose tell-all book
would sell better, whether a poster of a nude man hanging
over his new lover's bed had to come down before she'd
allow their 6-year-old to visit.
Divorce has been
exceptionally bitter for former New Jersey governor Jim
McGreevey and his wife, Dina Matos McGreevey. Unless they
can resolve the custody and money issues that have
arisen since their acrimonious parting, the state's
estranged former first couple is heading for a May
trial.
The pair split
three months after he came out on live television, saying
he had a gay affair with an ex-staffer and that he would
resign. On Friday they were in court for the umpteenth
round in their drawn-out divorce proceeding, this time
to fight about whether Matos McGreevey has to
cooperate the experts he hired to bolster his claim for
shared custody.
Celebrity divorce
lawyer Raoul Felder, whose list of clients includes
exes of Mike Tyson and Liz Taylor, doubts that the former
governor and his wife will follow the script of the
95% of divorcing spouses who settle their cases before
trial.
''She is a
betrayed spouse, but worse,'' said Felder, who is not
involved in the McGreevey case. ''He turned away from
her for a member of his own sex; it was even more
insulting because she was made a public fool. She
feels as if she was used and this is payback time.''
The McGreeveys
were married in October 2000 and split in November 2004,
when they left the governor's mansion in Princeton and began
living apart. As of February, they've been separated
with the intention of divorcing for three years and
three months -- nearly as long as the marriage.
After the breakup
he wrote a tell-all book, then went on The Oprah
Winfrey Show and acknowledged having a gay tryst
while his wife was in the hospital giving birth to
their daughter, Jacqueline. She followed with a
tell-all book of her own, and they argued over whose would
sell more copies.
On custody, their
lawyers -- he's on his third, she's kept the same one
throughout -- have squabbled over all sorts of issues. Matos
McGreevey has complained about artwork in her
husband's home, demanding that one nude photograph be
removed, and arguing that Jacqueline should not be
allowed to sleep in her father's bed.
McGreevey, who is
studying to be an Episcopal priest, wants to keep his
daughter for overnight visits on a school night and wants to
take her to Episcopal services when she's with him.
The couple once
rushed to court days before McGreevey was set to throw
Jacqueline a birthday bash because his wife argued it wasn't
his weekend for visitation.
''Mr. McGreevey
is extremely hopeful that in Jacqueline's best interest
her mother will relent in her so far obstinate refusal to
consent to true joint custody of this child, which
would allow Jacqueline to have the benefits of a deep
and bonded relationship with both of her parents,''
said Stephen P. Haller, McGreevey's lawyer.
The bickering
also involves money: Matos McGreevey claims he isn't living
up to his earning potential as a licensed attorney. She also
insists his live-in boyfriend, Mark O'Donnell, should
have to disclose his finances and business dealings.
Matos McGreevey
lives in a modest home in Springfield. She is an
executive with Columbus Hospital but likely will lose her
job in the spring, when the hospital is slated to
close. Matos McGreevey and her lawyer, John Post, did
not return messages seeking comment.
Like other
divorces, it's also been expensive: McGreevey said his legal
expenses have topped $400,000 so far and that they easily
could double before the divorce is final. (Angela
Delli Santi, AP)
