Yahoo Movies Julia Haart And Batsheva Are Busy Living The Fab Single Life
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The past year hasn't really been a breeze for Julia Haart. The 51-year-old star of the Netflix series My Unorthodox Life was fired from her job at Elite World Group and then started divorce proceedings from her husband, Silvio Scaglia, back in February. The news came on the heels of her daughter, Batsheva's, divorce from her husband of nine years, Ben Weinstein, in November of 2021. Now, season 2 of My Unorthodox Life has hit the streamer, and everyone is getting an inside look at the drama unfolding in the Haart household.
Since the Haart-break made headlines, more lawsuits have been filed and court battles waged. "There were so many things happening every day that all we could do is just hold on and just move forward,” Julia told USA Today. “There was no time to plan things or organize anything. Every day was something else crazy, and we just had to survive through it.”
In case you need a refresher, Julia worked alongside her husband, Silvio Scaglia, before he purchased Elite World Group in 2011. Years later, Silvio named Julia co-owner and CEO after they married in 2019. He even took her last name. But after 2.5 years, the couple called it quits, with the season 2 premiere showing Scaglia moving out of their beautiful penthouse in TriBeCa.
Read on for more details about the recent turn of events for the duo and what happened after My Unorthodox Life season 2.
What is Elite World Group?
According to its website, the Elite World Group identifies itself as "the world’s first talent media company, representing a powerful roster of personalities across fashion, entertainment, and culture." Their goal is to improve and maintain the social media presence of various brands, athletes, celebrities, etc.. And while Julia and Silvio may have put the company in the spotlight, it's actually been around for almost 50 years.
Why did Julia and Silvio get divorced?
Julia and Scaglia's relationship had been failing for months. The first news of the couple's split came in Dec. 2021, when sources revealed that the pair were still working together, but were no longer close, per Page Six.
In the past, Julia explained that her relationship with Scaglia had its ups and downs, even before they ever dated.
“The first year of our interaction was me yelling at him. I was horrible to him,” she told The New York Times. “But I had a lot of respect for him. As sheltered as my life had been, his life had been the diametric opposite. He’d been everywhere. He’d seen everything. And when I yelled at him, he took it like a man. That made me happy.”
Scaglia summarizes his issues in season 2: "My problem is that your life is ruled by your children, and I don't want my life to be (ruled) by your children because I have different approaches to life," he says.
Meanwhile, Julia says she couldn't handle the way he treated her children, and that "divorce was the only option," per USA Today.
Later, after Scaglia filed a lawsuit accusing Julia of misappropriating $850,000 in company funds (which she denies), she said that "It felt like again, I was in a position where (a) man (was) controlling my life and ruining me and destroying everything that I was," per USA Today.
Why did Batsheva and Ben get divorced?
Julia isn't the only Haart breaking free from marital bonds. Batsheva's divorce from her ex-husband, Ben Weinstein, was announced just before Julia's split.
“After time and consideration we have made the decision to separate. We have so much love and respect for each other but have realized that it is time to take some space to ensure that each of us live the most joyous, fulfilling lives possible,” Batsheva shared in an Instagram Story, Us Weekly reported.
“There are no secrets nor salacious events to blame. We are just two best friends who met at a very young age and have grown over the past 9 years each in our own way. We so appreciate your continuous support as we embark upon this new chapter of our lives, separately.”
The two got married at just 19 years old, and they disagreed on when to have children, per Rolling Stone.
Batsheva opened up about how difficult adjusting to single life has been, telling Us Weekly that she leaned a lot on her sister, Miriam, and mom, Julia.
“My mom has been amazing having me in the house. I lived [there] for a couple of months,” Batsheva told Us. “And just having my family’s, like, constant support and checking in and making sure I’m OK has made the transition for me, like, so much easier and smoother. I would not have been able to do it with the mental health that I did without them.”
Julia and Silvio's legal battles have been intense.
After her firing, Julia has filed a restraining order against Silvio. Silvio then sued Julia for $850,000, which he says was "illegally taken" by Julia after she was fired, out of a company bank account they shared, per Page Six. In a letter, Silvio also claimed that Julia spent too much money and abused her power as Elite World Group's CEO.
Julia filed her own lawsuit in Delaware in February of 2022 seeking "damages following her firing, claiming evidence proved she owned 50% of the company," per Rolling Stone. By May, the court ruled in Silvio's favor, stating that Julia did not actually own 50 percent of their companies, per ET.
In July of 2022, Julia filed another suit against Silvio for more than $257 million "alleging he defrauded her out of millions from their business after she filed for divorce," ET reported.
Julia's former employees spoke out.
Julia's former staffers shared what it was like to work for her—and it seems like some of them agree with Silvio. When Julia arrived too late to board a private flight one day, one staffer told The New York Post that “Julia was livid at us, she berated us … It was terrible, so much screaming," per Page Six.
Other staffers recalled being woken up in the middle of the night during their days off so they could find Julia a Starbucks location or to help deliver a family member's passport to another country. “My entire Christmas was ruined, nothing else existed but them. All we got was just a ‘Thank you,'” one former employee said.
“I slept with my phone under my pillow for years in case she called. I definitely suffer from PTSD, and talking about it brings up a lot…but I left that hell hole and I never looked back," another staffer explained.
Silvio is dating someone new.
As of October, it looks like Silvio has a new high-powered fashion CEO in his life: Michelle-Marie Heinemann, according to Rolling Stone. In fact, on Oct. 3, they announced their engagement.
What does this mean for My Unorthodox Life?
The streaming service charged ahead with plans for more episodes, which dropped on Dec. 2, 2022. Understandably, Silvio is only in the first episode, and Ben doesn't make an appearance.
Julia's work and marital problems are the main focus of the new season: Netflix was filming in the Elite World Group office the day she was fired. “Julia took the cameras into the offices for a meeting and was blindsided,” a source told Page Six.
The second season also touches on Batsheva's split from Ben Weinstein and new life as a divorcée in New York City.
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