Late French Icon Brigitte Bardot Left Husband Nothing in Final Will

OPA WIRE, Nov 3 (OPA) — French cinema icon Brigitte Bardot cut her last husband, Bernard d'Ormale, entirely out of her will prior to her death in December at age 91. A newly surfaced handwritten letter, dated November 17, 2022, and leaked to the newspaper Le Figaro, reveals severe marital friction. In the note, Bardot wrote to d'Ormale, "You have patiently destroyed me, day after day, for 30 years."

Mr d'Ormale, 85, is currently locked in a legal dispute over the estate after being evicted from La Madrague, their Mediterranean home in St Tropez, and forced to move into a council flat. He was also dismissed as president of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. His lawyer, Aurelie-Caroline Vieugue, defended him by stating he was treated worse than a criminal despite sharing 33 years with the late actress.

Bardot's entire estate is directed to the Brigitte Bardot Foundation and her 66-year-old son, Nicholas Charrier. The foundation stated that d'Ormale's departure from La Madrague follows a legal obligation, as Bardot had donated the property to the organization in 1992. Controversy has also surrounded d'Ormale's past career as an advisor to Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the far-right National Front, which created tensions within the foundation.

Legal battles continue as personal items from Bardot's estate are auctioned off, including her trademark straw sun hats, ballet shoes, and clothing. D'Ormale previously claimed he refused gifts and inheritance during Bardot's life to avoid accusations of opportunism. The dispute highlights the final chapter of a complex relationship that began when the couple married in Norway in 1992, though their marriage held no legal validity in France.