Exclusive | Bizarre twist in $6.2B divorce as its revealed billionaires alleged fencing coach lover sued his wife over smear campaign
A divorcing New Jersey billionaire’s gal pal was his son’s fencing coach — and once sued his wife for defamation, claiming the spouse insinuated she ruined their marriage, court papers show.The revelations are just the latest bizarre twist in the sensational case involving what could potentially be the largest divorce settlement in New Jersey history — $6.2 billion — and one of the most expensive payouts involving a split in the US ever.Lauren Phillips, 40 — an award-winning former Rutgers University fencer — alleged in her 2024 lawsuit that Laura Overdeck, the soon-to-be ex-wife of hedge-fund savant John Overdeck, 56, publicly accused her of being her husband’s “paramour” and was “the reason for the breakup” of the Short Hills couple’s marriage.The suit — exclusively obtained by The Post — also claimed that Laura Overdeck, a 56-year-old who shares three kids with her estranged hubby, accused Phillips “of being a criminal who ‘threatens people with real knives’” in a text message to her estranged husband.“These statements have been repeated throughout the course of the year to Ms.Phillips’ other clients, friends and business associates,” said the suit filed by Phillips — a fencing coach who owns her own gym in Millburn — that Christmas Eve.“The narrative painted by Defendant served additional purposes, namely, to smear Ms.
Phillips and avoid potential media embarrassment resulting from Defendant’s high-profile divorce,” the suit said.The lawsuit claimed the chatty Laura had “affected and will continue to affect” Phillips’ reputation — and, by proxy, her prestigious fencing school — causing “a loss of good will and confidence in the community.”A judge tossed the Essex County Superior Court suit months later when Phillips failed to follow up with the legal process.A rep for Phillips declined to comment.Neither of the Overdecks responded to requests for comment from The Post.One of Overdeck’s thre...