Kelly Bensimon is a 56-year-old RHONY alum. She’s also a former model and former fashion editor. Her stint on RHONY seemed to give a boost to her career as an all-around celebrity and she reportedly has a net worth around $10 million. In 2009, she was charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly punching her boyfriend at the time, Nick Stefanov. She ended up taking a plea deal and performing two days of community service. Years later, she met Scott Litner at a Rangers game. Litner is a finance bro who has worked for Bank of America, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. They got engaged last year on the Fourth of July. Their wedding was supposed to happen this coming weekend, only Kelly called off the wedding and ended the engagement. She issued statements to Us Weekly and People Magazine about why she ended things so suddenly:
Kelly Bensimon is speaking out after calling off her wedding to financier Scott Litner four days before the pair were supposed to tie the knot, telling PEOPLE that she “refused to marry him” after he wouldn’t sign a prenup.
“Ultimately, my decision is nobody’s business, but I understand that there is speculation and gossip, and I want to put an end to all of it,” Bensimon, 56, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “To be clear, he refused to sign a prenuptial agreement, and I refused to marry him. Full stop.”
PEOPLE confirmed Bensimon called off the nuptials earlier this week, with an insider close to the reality star saying that she was taking time for herself to regroup during a difficult time.
In an official statement, the Real Housewives of New York City alum confirmed the news, saying that the June 29 wedding was called off on Tuesday, June 25, and that she was “disappointed by this turn of events.”
“She was looking forward to an exciting new chapter in her life together with Scott when everything became clear to her late on Tuesday afternoon,” the statement read, adding a quote from Bensimon herself: “He thought that I would enter this union without legal protections in place, that I would leave everything to faith. But I’ve worked really, really, hard as a single mother and have always made smart decisions for myself and my family, and that will continue.”
The statement added Litner, who works as a wealth management advisor, “refused to sign a prenuptial agreement, effectively stalling their engagement mere days before the wedding.”
I would imagine that Litner has his own money from his finance career, and it sounds like he’s used to pulling down mid-to-high six figures a year. My point being, a prenup would have protected him and his assets as well and I do think it’s shady AF that he seemingly refused to sign a prenup. Kelly also told Us Weekly that she thought the refusal was “the ultimate red flag,” and I kind of agree with her?
Also, I have to say something really political here, so if you’re not in the mood, just skip this but given the hard-right evangelical political turn in many states and within the Supreme Court, women need to start being very VERY f–king careful about who they become legally attached to. If this year’s elections take a bad turn, no-fault divorces are on the chopping block in a big way. Birth control access is on the chopping block, nevermind abortion access. I’m just saying… ladies, if you want to shack up with a man, go ahead. But don’t combine finances, don’t marry without a prenup, don’t leave yourself unprotected, don’t let that man baby-trap you or marriage-trap you.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.