Well, this was a long time coming. Mel Gibson and Robyn Gibson’s divorce has, at long last, been finalized. Mel and Robyn were married for nearly 30 years, but she started divorce proceedings on Mel back in April, 2009. Between that time and now, Mel impregnated Oksana Gregorieva, and they had a baby girl. The custody dispute between Mel and Oksana took less time than Mel and Robyn’s divorce. Would you like to know why? Because Robyn was getting PAID.

Mel Gibson is now legally single after his divorce was finalized Friday in a Los Angeles courtroom, but bachelorhood came at a heavy price.

Robyn, his ex-wife of nearly 30 years and the mother of their seven children, is walking away with half his fortune, once estimated to be as high as $850 million (according to the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2006) in what is considered the biggest divorce payout in Hollywood history.

Because the couple didn’t have a prenuptial agreement, Robyn, 55, was legally entitled to half of everything he earned during their marriage.

Among Gibson’s estimated assets: more than $600 million grossed by The Passion of the Christ alone; $100-plus million in real estate investments worldwide (he bought an island in Fiji for $15 million in 2005); and $75 million for film and TV projects for which Gibson, 55, executive produced.

It appears some of his wealth has already been transferred to Robyn, in particular two Malibu homes worth a combined $22.5 million. As for film residuals, Robyn is entitled to half of every future check Gibson receives for the rest of his life.

“I left my wife because we had no spiritual common ground,” Gibson told his then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva in secretly recorded tapes she made of the actor in February 2010.

During his custody battle with Grigorieva, in which the Russian musician accused Gibson of domestic violence, Robyn filed a sworn statement in July 2010 stating that “Mel was a wonderful and loving father” and never abused Robyn or their kids.

Gibson met Robyn, at the time a dental nurse, in the late 1970s after the American-born actor, who moved to Australia when he was 12, had filmed his breakout role in Mad Max.

[From People]

You know what? After 30 years with that alcoholic, anti-Semitic, violent POS, Robyn deserves every penny. I always thought that she came out and claimed that Mel had never been violent with her because it was part of the divorce negotiations. Robyn battled hard for the money, and she got what she wanted.

Photos courtesy of Fame, Pacific Coast News & Bauer-Griffin.

According to Mike Walker’s column in the National Enquirer, Mel Gibson asked his wife of nearly 30 years, Robyn, for a reunion and was rebuffed. This sounds likely given Mel’s history and the past rumors we’ve heard:

The disgraced actor – overwhelmed with gratitude when Robyn testified to the court that he’d never slugged her or their kids – actually screwed up his courage and asked her at one of the quiet dinners they’ve shared of late if she’d consider taking him back. Said the pal: “Mel was shocked when Robyn, never missing a beat, show him down cold and said ‘Absolutely Not!’ It’s taken years for her to pick up the pieces, and reuniting would be a backward step she’s unwilling to take.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, August 9, 2010]

Apart from her testimony on Mel’s behalf in his custody battle with Oksana, we haven’t heard much from or about Robyn. The Enquirer ran a story last year claiming Robyn had a new boyfriend, and we’ve heard that sheunderstandably had doubts about Oksana’s motivations for hooking up with Mel. There were also stories that she was happily spending Mel’s money in the wake of their pending divorce. Of course Mel wants Robyn back, she put up with his crazy for decades and he’s “broke”! She stands to get a huge chunk of his fortune in the divorce and a reconciliation could help him avoid all that.

In other never-ending Mel Gibson news, Radar has a lame apology e-mail that Mel sent Oksana the day after the “alleged” abuse, while Oksana supposedly has a witness to Mel’s abuse (sadly it’s probably her son). Mel was also ordered to pay $250,000 for Oksana’s legal expenses, which she had to initially take out loans to pay.

Also, Mel’s people are trying to discredit Oksana’s black eye photo by claiming that she somehow withheld that piece of evidence during their mediation sessions. She was reportedly offered $15 million for her silence, which she accepted and ultimately turned down. There’s only so much Mel and his people can do to spin the massive amount of evidence against him.

Header: Mel and Robyn on April 19, 2009. Also, circa 1986. Credit: Bauer-Griffin.

Ugh, of course there are a million Mel Gibson and Oksana stories this morning. I’m just going to try getting through them quickly, not that it will make a difference. CB and I see the coverage of these ongoing abuse stories differently – while neither of us thinks Oksana is full of sh-t, CB comes down more on the side of believing Oksana about everything, and sticking up for her about everything. I feel differently in that I understand how people can have their doubts about Oksana’s actions then and now, although I still feel strongly that she was and is an abused woman, and her words and actions aren’t always going to fit whatever mold, and she didn’t always make the best decisions in the heat of the moment, and whatever, you know? People have the right to point out Oksana’s bad decisions, bad choices, and it doesn’t mean that their siding with Mel, or that they think Mel is anything other than a horrible f-cking monster.

But here’s one point I’d like to make: I used to work for a man who counseled abusive men, and I’ve seen the f-cked up psychology of abusers – it is really frightening what an abuser can do to a woman’s mind, and that really does contribute to the actions an abused woman takes, you know? If she believes she deserves it, she’s going to stay. If she can rationalize his behavior, she’s going to stay. There are so many abusive men who believe so wholly that they are completely justified in the moment when they are abusing, that the women they abuse believe it too. So even though I think Oksana should have gotten out long before she did, and I may have questions about some of her actions now, I also concede that as much as Mel was physically and verbally abusing her, there was a lot of psychological abuse there too, judging from their recorded conversations. All in all, I’m proud (as a woman) that Oksana got out finally, and that she got smart and compiling evidence against Mel.

Okay, so let’s start with the stories. Yesterday, TMZ got the tip from Mel’s camp that the LA County Sheriff’s Department was investigating Mel’s allegations that Oksana was attempting to extort him. The spokesperson said: “Extortion allegations have been brought to our attention and we are certainly going to be looking at that.” Blah. Mel says extortion claims, Oksana says “custody negotiations.”

Radar also reports that after the January 6 incident, Mel Gibson texted Oksana the next day: “Oksana, I wasn’t safe for you last night.” Radar is calling this “a key part of the explosive domestic violence investigation into their January 6 bust-up.”

Another explanation for the January 6th incident? Mel Gibson was going through nicotine withdrawal. He had just quit smoking, and that’s why he terrorized his girlfriend and two children, according to Team Mel. Umm… I’ve quit smoking before, and I didn’t beat anyone. All you really want to do is cry and drive to the Exxon station and buy a pack of smokes. Seriously, if the choice is between smoking or abusing, I say go with smoking.

Lastly, the tabloids have finally gotten onto this, taking two f-cking weeks to realize how sensational this story is (I mean “sensational” in that it’s a story people are talking about, not as in “good”). Life and Style reports (via Jezebel) that Robyn Gibson is just publicly supporting Mel because she wants more money in their divorce settlement, so they’ve agreed that she should keep quiet. A source says: “What she put up with for the last 10 years was often sheer hell. He’d go on alcohol-fueled rages, and she’d be terrified — not only for her own life but for the lives of her children.” And according to L&S’s sources, Robyn blames Mel for getting “at least two” of their kids addicted to drugs. Us Weekly’s source has the same kind of story – Mel’s older kids with Robyn are terrified of him because they “have all seen his temper and are scared of him… He rules them with an iron fist.”

All archival photos of Mel, Robyn and their kids courtesy of Bauer-Griffin

Ugh, we’ve got some various updates on various Mel Gibson stories. Yesterday, The Daily Mail started the rumor that Mel Gibson wanted to move to Australia after having such a rotten go of it in America – apparently, he’s put all of his American properties for sale. But… Mel’s rep refuted the story, so I guess America is stuck with him (BOO).

Next… a follow-up from People Magazine on Robyn Gibson’s letter defending Mel, which was leaked to TMZ and other sources. I think People was trying to take a pro-Mel tact, just because they seemed to look for a story about how his family is totally supporting him, but something got messed up. First, the unnamed “pal” of Mel’s tells People: “He has a good support system in his friends and family” and that his older kids are “absolutely” standing by him. As for the letter from Robyn, where she defended Mel as never “physically abusive,” the source goes on to say: “Mel didn’t ask Robyn for the affidavit, where she says that he never engaged in any physical abuse towards her. Robyn just felt that enough is enough and stepped in to show that she still values her marriage to Mel and that she is sick of the media portraying Mel as a heartless and abusive monster. Robyn feels that Mel was and is an amazing dad… and she is still very protective of him.” So Robyn was sick of seeing Mel portrayed in the media the way he was at home, I guess. BUT, how does the family really see all of these tapes where he’s screaming for his pre-Jacuzzi beej? They think that Oksana “pushed him over the edge. While they do think he needs help for his anger issues, Mel’s family is supportive of him.”

People Magazine also ran this article about what might or could happen legally between Mel and Oksana. The basics: Mel probably won’t go to jail, but will get some kind of probation. Oksana probably won’t be charged with anything. Also, there’s a lot of “gray area” in the law regarding documentation of domestic abuse, so Oksana’s tapes may be admissible, but maybe not. Also: so far, the justice system doesn’t think Mel is an “imminent threat” to anybody. Seriously?

You know how the Mel Gibson tapes are just horrible, and each new day brings another hate-filled audio that just ruins your whole day? Except for yesterday’s tape which, while still disturbing, was actually pretty funny with the whole ““I deserve to be blown first before the F-CKING JUCUZZI! Okay, I’ll burn the f-cking house down!!! HOW DARE YOU?!!” and “Oh and earlier today – you said ‘Oh, nevermind’. WHAT THE F-CK WERE YOU GOING TO SAY?” Well, a lot of us were wondering “Gee, I wonder if Mel ever pulled that sh-t with Robyn?” Robyn, his first and only wife. Robyn, who he pretty much left for Oksana. Robyn, who stuck by him for 28 years and had seven of his children and could walk away with some kind of insane $400 million divorce settlement. That Robyn. Well, TMZ reports that Robyn has submitted a written declaration to the court on behalf of Mel – she says that he never hit her or the kids, and Mel was “a wonderful and loving father.”

Mel Gibson’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Robyn, has written a sworn declaration on behalf of Mel, saying he has never physically abused her or any of their children in the 28 years they were married … TMZ has learned.

We’ve learned in the declaration, Robyn writes, “Mel never engaged in any physical abuse of any kind toward me before, during or after our marriage.” Robyn also says there was never any domestic violence perpetrated by Mel against any of their children.

We’ve learned the declaration was filed with the court this morning. We’re told Robyn’s declaration will also be submitted to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department when Mel’s lawyers present their evidence to deputies next week.

In the 1-page declaration, Robyn acknowledges that she is divorcing Mel but says, “Mel was a wonderful and loving father.”

Robyn — who is widely respected in Hollywood — could ultimately be very powerful ammo for Mel.

[From TMZ]

I’m here to nitpick. Okay, so Mel was never physically violent towards Robyn or the kids. I’ll buy that claim at face value, although I do think Robyn’s settlement money might have soothed any marital problems they once had. But sure, okay, Mel “never engaged in any physical abuse of any kind toward me before, during or after our marriage”. I will accept the idea that Mel never abused her or their kids, but I don’t think that means he DID NOT abuse Oksana. Plus, what about other kinds of abuse? Did he ever scream and yell and act insane and threaten people with guns? Oh, that’s right – he did yell and verbally abuse people when he was married to Robyn. “Sugartits” anyone? Furthermore – Mel was the one to leave Robyn for Oksana. If Robyn had left Mel, it might have been a different story. Because I think that’s what Oksana’s tapes show – Mel is like a baby, and he wants all of the attention all of the time, and when he doesn’t get it, he turns into a total freak.

Header: Mel and Robyn, circa 1986. Also, on April 19, 2009. Credit: Bauer-Griffin.

Last week, it looked like Mel Gibson and Robyn Gibson were finding some semblance of peace. Reports indicated that their divorce negotiations were going smoothly, and Robyn even left the country for Oksana Grigorieva’s media blitz. Word was that Mel and Robyn had been meeting secretly at the small church Mel had founded, and had spent some quality time burying the hatchet, for the sake of their kids.

Not so much, as it turns out. The Enquirer is reporting that after a small reconciliation, Robyn “has crafted a startling new plan” to destroy Mel’s soul. ‘Atta girl. Robyn pulled away from making it easy on Mel when she “grew suspicious” of Oksana. Robyn thinks Oksana has a “sketchy past” (duh) and Robyn hired a private investigator to follow Oksana at all times. Robyn truly feels that Oksana is out to get as much money from Mel as possible (dur), and Robyn wants to make sure she and her kids are taken care of first:

Mel Gibson’s soon-to-be ex-wife is out to get his woman – and his beloved church!

Mel’s determination for a quickie divorce has infuriated estranged wife Robyn, and she has crafted a startling new plan to sink his fast-track wedding to pregnant fiancee Oksana Grigorieva, the Enquirer has learned.

Hollywood’s most vicious divorce battle has taken a venomous turn with Mel’s scorned ex putting a private detective on Oksana, and vowing to dismantle his Holy Family Chapel in Agoura Hills, say sources.

According to insiders close to her, Robyn has agreed to a “bifurcated” divorce – a process in which the marriage is terminated quickly, but division of property, alimony, child support or custody arrangements, and determined later.

However, “Robyn is out to get Mel in the end,” says a close family friend. “There’s $1 billion at stake, and Robyn is planning on taking it all, including Mel’s chapel.”

“Her attorneys have finally gotten through to her that the real estate alone the chapel sits on is worth millions. While she’s been a member of the chapel for years, Robyn’s involvement was all because of Mel. She’s not Catholic and she could not care less about Mel’s shrine.”

We recently reported that Robyn and Mel were on good terms and trying to work things out amicably during secret meeting at the chapel. But Robyn made a sudden about-face after she grew increasingly suspicious of Oksana’s motives, and the Gibson children began to resent the Russian pop singer.

“Robyn feels Oksana has a sketchy past, and that she’s using Mel. She also believes Oksana is out to get a big piece of the Gibson family’s financial pie,” the friend divulged. “She’s so furious that she’s hired a private investigator to follow Oksana. She wants as much dirt as possible to give her leverage if a court battle is necessary.”

The seven Gibson children are on their mom’s side, the source said.

“Oksana told Mel that his kids should be separate from their new life together,” claimed the friend. “Oksana wants her own life with Mel, their baby and her 12-year-old son. She’s pushing Mel to put all of his time and money into his new family.”

“But Mel’s kids love him, and they feel he is choosing Oksana and her family over them. At this point, they are against Oksana and think she is after their father’s money and quality time.”

[From the National Enquirer, print edition, August 31 2009]

I hate the reference to Oksana as “his new family”. Barf. I mean, obviously, he’s knocked her up and he’s going to try to make a go of it. But let’s not sanctimoniously refer to either an “old” or “new” family. Robyn and Mel have seven children together – and even though I think Mel is a total sleaze, I do think he’ll do right by his kids. He’ll probably do right by Robyn too – she must really have the dirt of him, and it probably scares the hell out of him. All Robyn has to do is sign a book deal or do one sit-down tell-all interview with Barbara Walters, and Mel’s ass and assets are hers.

Mel Gibson is shown below outside Nobu on 8/8/09. Credit: WENN.com

There’s been a lot of news lately about Mel Gibson and his pregnant girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, probably because she’s been doing a media blitz to promote her album, which Mel Gibson is paying for. Oksana admitted last week that she only got with Mel when he “reassured” her his marriage was unhappy. Previously, we’ve heard other explanations for how, when and where Mel and his wife Robyn became estranged, and my guess was that Oksana just forgot her talking points. We’ve also heard about the alleged “secret annulment” Mel Gibson got from his sort-of Catholic Church in California, supposedly so he could marry Oksana free and clear. Most of the stories have been pretty consistent – Oksana is here to stay, and Mel is making arrangements to have their relationship legitimized in the eyes of the public.

Alas, the Enquirer has a different take. And before everyone gets up in arms about it being from the Enquirer, keep in mind that they’ve had several great scoops on Mel and Oksana that later turned out to be true. They claim that Mel is really worried that Robyn will destroy him in the divorce, and that Robyn will turn all of their kids against him. I totally buy that. The Enquirer also reports that Robyn and Mel have been meeting secretly to work out the divorce deal, and to keep the peace – they are “getting along better than they have in years.” My guess is that Robyn is being nice because she’s visualizing all of that money she’s going to get. Imagining eight zeroes on a check has a calming effect. But guess who’s not happy with Mel and Robyn’s secret meetings? Oksana!

Mel Gibson is meeting secretly with his soon-to-be ex-wife, and his pregnant girlfriend is fuming! [He’s] bending over backward to please both his estranged wife Robyn and fiancée Oksana Grigorieva, and sources say the pressure has him frazzled.

“Mel is desperately trying to keep both Robyn and Oksana happy, and his nerves are shot,” an insider told the Enquirer.

After she filed for divorce in April, Robyn didn’t even want to speak to the father of her seven kids, said the insider.

“Mel has been meeting secretly with Robyn at his Holy Family Chapel in Agoura Hills to hash out their divorce, and attempt to get her blessing to marry Oksana,” the insider divulged.

“He knows that Robyn still has a lot of control over his assets and their children’s opinions of him, so he’s being very nice to her. They’re getting along better than they have in years.”

But… the truce with Robyn is causing trendous turmoil between him and 39-year-old Oksana, who is due to deliver his child this fall.

“When Oksana found out about Mel’s secret meetings with Robyn, she went berserk,” said the insider.

“The key problem is Oksana knows Mel will always have a place in his heart for Robyn, and she’s scared to death that Mel might reconsider their divorce.”

But a reconciliation is not really an option, said the source. One big factor, as the Enquirer recently reported, is 53-year-old Robyn’s newfound happiness with her secret boyfriend, who lives in northern California.

“At this point, Robyn just wants the divorce to be finalized so she can move on with her life,” explained the insider. “And she wants the Gibson kids to be happy with both their parent’s new relationships.”

[After Mel’s secret annulment by his breakaway Catholic congration, he was planning a splashy Christmas wedding to Oksana.]

“But Oksana is threatening to postpone the nuptials if Mel doesn’t stop meeting with Robyn and including her in financial matters regarding the family and the church,” confided the insider.

“Oksana hates that Robyn is still in control of Mel’s money. She told him that there will be no wedding until Robyn is 100 percent out of Mel’s life.”

“All Mel wants is peace between his new and old families, and a joyous Christmas wedding.”

[From the National Enquirer, print edition, August 24 2009]

Oksana’s not really the sharpest knife in the drawer is she? Threatening to not marry Mel isn’t much of a bluff. Oksana needs the marriage way more than Mel. True, she’s got her baby “Cash Money”, but she would get a lot more in a divorce. As for the threat about not seeing Robyn anymore? Puh-lease. No matter how much of a douche I think Mel is, I do think he and Robyn probably care very much about maintaining some sort of civil relationship for their seven kids.

Radar is reporting that Mel Gibson’s estranged wife of 29 years, Robyn Gibson, has fled the country. Perhaps “fled” is the wrong word, but I tend to think it’s apt. Mel Gibson’s baby-mama, Oksana Grigorieva has been on a media blitz to promote her album, Beautiful Heartache. Robyn probably doesn’t want to listen to any of the press. Or maybe she just wanted to go on holiday with her youngest son, Tommy. Radar is also reporting that Mel and Robyn’s divorce is about to become final “within days” but has no mention of what kind of settlement Robyn will be getting. Mel is reportedly worth around $900 million, and some sources claim that Robyn could be getting half. My guess? She’ll probably walk away with around $200-300 million in cash, assets and property. Bring mama a mojito.

Earlier this week, we covered one of the interviews Oksana Grigorieva has been doing to promote her album. In that Reuters interview, Oksana did her best to come across like anything other than a vapid gold-digger. She actually seemed sympathetic at times (to me at least), but she did say some aggravating things, like: “How can I be judged for falling in love? We live in the same city. I don’t control who I meet… love is inexplicable… It’s not like I was planning to meet Mel specifically. Life happens. There was a working relationship for a long time. I thought he was happily married until I was reassured otherwise. And then it happened.” Oksana also claimed that she and Mel had no specific plans to get married.

Oksana’s CNN interview was a lot of the same, but I thought I’d put some of highlights up. If you’d like to see the interview, CNN has it. Oksana calls Mel a “visionary” (barf) and claims that she and Mel aren’t going to find out the sex of the baby. But how will they pick out a name? Oh, right. “Cash Money” works for a boy or a girl:

“Beautiful Heartache” was released to iTunes on July 23 by Icon Distribution, Mel Gibson’s company, which up until now has handled only soundtracks for his movies.

“He’s an incredible artist,” Grigorieva said. “A visionary. He enabled me to produce this album, for my music to live.”

Grigorieva and Gibson were first photographed together on the set of his movie “Edge of Darkness,” according to People magazine. Grigorieva is pregnant with Gibson’s child and is to give birth this year.

She said the couple has opted not to learn the sex of the child. It will be her second child, after Alexander, her 12-year-old son with actor Timothy Dalton.

“I’m already buying things in gender-neutral colors. It’s very cute,” she chuckled.
Alexander, she added, is excited about having a sibling. “He’s like a little man, protecting me. He’s looking forward to it very much.”

Grigorieva says she and Gibson have no immediate plans for marriage. “We don’t know yet. We haven’t really talked about it,” she admitted.

She acknowledged that her relationship with Gibson has given her a unique opportunity to present her skills. “If you think about it, every talent needs a serious push and help from somebody who is stronger, because it’s pretty much impossible for anybody to succeed in this industry. So I’ve become very lucky, and I’m very grateful… You don’t control the situations or the people you meet. I did not plan this. I’m just doing what I’ve always been doing. It’s not like I’ve changed my goals at all.”

In the meantime, Grigorieva is adapting to life in the public eye.

“It hasn’t been too bad, actually. There was a period of time where it was a little bit difficult, but now it’s much better,” she said.

Before embarking on limited press for the new album, Gibson did offer a few words of advice, she added: “Just be myself and speak the truth. What I most like to talk about is my music and ‘Beautiful Heartache.’ And that’s pretty much it.

[From CNN]

When she’s not yawn-inducing, she makes me queasy. This whole operation makes me queasy, actually. Mel and his money (and his public relations team) are trying to sell a better, more wholesome version of Oksana and their relationship to the public. It’s very transparent, and it isn’t working. I hate gold-diggers who play the victim. The real victim of all of this is named Robyn, and she’s laying on a beach somewhere sipping a Mojito.

Robyn Gibson is shown out in 2000. Images thanks to Fame Pictures .