What Georgina Chapman knew about her husband Harvey Weinstein
Georgina Chapman, the wife of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, was reportedly entirely unaware of the sexual misconduct allegedly carried out by her husband before and during their nearly 10-year marriage.
Earlier this month, the Weinstein Company executive lost his job, reputation, and then his wife after a bombshell expose by the New York Times outlined nearly three decades of alleged sexual harassment allegations against him.
Chapman, 41 – one half of the design duo behind high-end house Marchesa – announced on October 10 that she was leaving 65-year-old Weinstein, the father of her two children.
Since then more than 40 women have gone public with allegations against the movie boss, with questions now being asked about whether she had known earlier about his behaviour.
While Chapman had apologised “many times” for her husband’s “verbally rough behaviour” and notorious temper, she was not aware of Weinstein’s alleged sexual misconduct, a source told People.
“She never would have stayed married if she’d known,” the source said.
“She was never with Harvey when he behaved like this.”
During the marriage, Weinstein and Chapman presented the united front of the ultimate power couple, the source said.
“Their relationship started out with the understanding that if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
That meant Weinstein helped fund Marchesa’s 2004 launch, and leveraged his Hollywood clout to make actresses in his movies wear her designers, People reported.
The couple had a balance, said an Us Weekly source, who claimed while the marriage was far from “a passionate love affair” Weinstein and Chapman “knew their roles”.
“He was a workaholic and she was the devoted mum.”
When things fell apart and Chapman gave Weinstein – who has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex – his marching orders, she said in a statement: “My heart breaks for all the women who have suffered.”
In the first days after the NYT story, Weinstein was initially supported by Chapman, said sources, with Us Weekly claiming he offered her a specific sweetener to stick by him.
“Georgina told him she wanted to have another child,” a source told the magazine. “Harvey promised her he could do that.”
Instead, “the sheer weight of the allegations was too much”, the source said.
Chapman is now said to have signed up divorce lawyers, and has a close circle of friends and family including daughter India, 7, and son Dashiell, 4, around her as she gets through the days.
“She is focusing all her energy on her children to try to protect them from everything that’s going on,” a friend said.
Also on the salvage list: Marchesa.
Chapman and her partner Keren Craig cancelled their planned summer 2018 preview, and the brand’s collaboration with 102-year-old jewellery firm Helzberg Diamonds was dropped as the Weinstein scandal blew up.
Said the Hollywood Reporter about the blowback, “The company’s decision raises questions about what kind of message it’s sending to women with this development, considering that Marchesa is Chapman’s business – not Weinstein’s – and she was not the abuser.”