In May, David Geffen filed for divorce from his much-younger husband. Geffen is 82 years old and a billionaire. His husband is 32 and never signed a prenup. Predictably, the divorce was messy from the start, as Donovan Michaels (the young husband) wanted Geffen to pay spousal support and perhaps offer some kind of settlement. Bizarrely, Geffen seemed to put up a fight over simply paying off Donovan and making him sign a NDA. I mean, this is pretty standard in these elite circles, correct? You don’t want the bad publicity, you don’t want your sex-worker-turned-husband to start spilling his intimate gossip. In July, Donovan sued Geffen for breach of contract and he alleged all kinds of unsettling things about Geffen. Well, that probably worked. Now Donovan has filed to dismiss the lawsuit and it looks like everything is finally going to be settled quietly and out of court.
Donovan Michaels has dropped a civil lawsuit against his estranged husband David Geffen for an alleged breach of contract. On Friday, Oct. 17, the former dancer, 32, filed to dismiss a lawsuit against the billionaire and former record executive, 82, “without prejudice” in the Los Angeles Superior Court, according to documents obtained by PEOPLE.
Lawyers for Michaels and Geffen did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. In the lawsuit, which was filed in July, Michaels (who also goes by David Armstrong), sued Geffen for failing to provide “lifelong support” amid their ongoing divorce. Per the complaint, Michaels claimed that after they separated, Geffen was in “breach of express oral contract” and “breach of implied contract” for “denying” him “full financial support.”
Michaels’ lawyers also claimed in the complaint that Geffen evicted Michaels and “cut him off from his status quo financial support.”
At the time, Geffen’s lawyer Patty Glaser told PEOPLE that “there was no contract—express, written, oral, or implied—that has ever existed.” She continued, “We will be vigorously and righteously defending against this false, pathetic lawsuit.”
Geffen filed for divorce from Michaels on May 16 after less than two years of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split. Their separation date was listed as Feb. 22, 2025. Per the filing, the former couple did not sign a prenup before marrying in March 2023.
According to the May filing, Geffen — whose net worth may be around $8.7 billion, per Forbes — was willing to pay Michaels spousal support, as well as his attorney fees. Then, on May 27, Michaels filed a formal request for spousal support, attorney’s fees “all other relief the Court deems just and proper,” according to documents obtained by PEOPLE.
What’s crazy to me is… why not just handle it this way from the start? Obviously Geffen is the one who was done with Donovan, that’s why Geffen filed for divorce in the first place. But he was still with Donovan for years and they were legally married. Why not just offer Donovan an immediate settlement, make him sign an NDA and then enjoy the rest of your 82-year-old life? Why drag it out for months and give Donovan the chance to air out some of your very dirty laundry? I truly hope Donovan is getting a really nice settlement and he has enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
-
- Los Angeles, CA – Billionaire, David Geffen is very casual as he arrives with his partner Donovan Michaels at the Lakers game at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Pictured: David Geffen, Donovan Michaels BACKGRID USA 24 APRIL 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: BLW Clips / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Los Angeles, CA – David Geffen arriving to Lakers Playoff Game at the Lakers game at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Pictured: David Geffen BACKGRID USA 24 APRIL 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Los Angeles, CA – David Geffen arriving to Lakers Playoff Game at the Lakers game at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Pictured: David Geffen BACKGRID USA 24 APRIL 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Anyone with a brain would have gotten a prenup. How are these people billionaires??
There’s no fool like an old fool.
Either Geffen was hurt and angry for whatever real or perceived infractions committed by his former spouse, or he — like so many of the obscenely wealthy — believes it’s his God-given right to have whatever he wants when he wants it.
So it goes.
Right?!!!
The only thing that comes to mind is that people with this kind of wealth must have a sense of rules and laws not applying to them. That ends up being a weakness that is used against them, when an under-resourced person has an ability to touch them in any way.
Hard to know how you’d get to be a billionaire with that kind of impaired world view.
“Shrugs”
He got into a relationship with someone who could be his Grandson & I can ONLY imagine how THAT relationship went 😱 so I too hope the YOUNG man got a decent settlement
What was the “very dirty” laundry though? I didn’t hear any? Maybe that explains Geffen’s lack of prenup. He knew the guy had nothing on him? I dunno …
My thoughts as well. At his age and with his money, is there anything his former hubby could expose that would shock?
Didn’t this guy allege emotional and domestic violence that extended to the bedroom amounting to sexual violence? It seems the abuse claims got the old goat shook; the younger spouse probably has evidence that could finish Geffen, so he decided to settle. It’s easier to vow to “fight the false pathetic” lawsuit before you get access to the evidence against your client but once you get the facts, it forces you to reconsider, non? I strongly believe this is what happened in this case.
For me this illustrates how obscenely greedy the billionaire class is. So you have 8 BILLION with a fucking B dollars, and you don’t want to cough up one, two, three, or four of those billions. You want to hoard the money at 82 years old instead of just offering a settlement to the person you were married to and do not have a prenup with. If you gave this man half of your worth, you’d be worth 4 BILLION. If you gave him one billion, you’d be worth 7 BILLION.
I bet we aren’t even talking billions here, I bet we are talking a hundred million or less. I hope his ex husband got a good settlement.
Sigh. I was Team All Of David Geffen’s Dirty Laundry Spiiled.
“ I truly hope Donovan is getting a really nice settlement and he has enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life.”
I hope he gets a decent, trustworthy financial manager.
Yeah Geffen not settling right away sounds petty and stupid.
Funnily enough, looking at the picture of the ex-husband, I’m reminded that my brother, who resembles the ex and is around that age range, told me he once went on a date with Geffen (not sure how they met or if my brother was escorting at the time). But suggests Geffen may have a type!
They knowingly and willingly had no prenup, so technically the spouse is entitled to half of the increase in Geffen’s net worth during the marriage. The notion that Geffen insisted he was entitle to nothing speaks to billionaire arrogance. He should consider himself lucky with a settlement that was less than that amount.
I am not a divorce atty in Calif but I don’t think that is quite right. Geffen’s spouse was entitled only to about one year of spousal support because they were only married for a short time. I am pretty sure Geffen knew full well what he would have to pay out if his marriage went up in flames and he knew he didn’t need a prenup. And this settlement seems to bear that out.