U.S. News
Heiress Reveals Painful Divorce Hardships

Clear Facts
- Belle Burden, born into an established family, faced financial and personal loss after her husband’s affair and their subsequent divorce.
- Her memoir outlines the changes made to her prenuptial agreement at her husband’s urging, which her lawyer advised against.
- Burden sacrificed her trusts to fund properties where she made her husband joint owner, and later prioritized family over her career at his insistence.
Belle Burden’s privileged upbringing did not shield her from the challenges of a divorce following her husband’s betrayal. Her memoir shares how decisions driven by trust and commitment resulted in serious personal and financial hardship.
The marriage began with both partners working as lawyers, but as their relationship moved forward, Burden agreed to alter her prenuptial agreement against her legal advisor’s counsel. This change meant she forfeited standard protections during the divorce.
“Tom told me it was a bad idea; it was standard to share in what was earned during a marriage, both by James and by me,” she wrote.
Despite warnings, she put full trust in her husband and made financial sacrifices, using her own assets to buy homes and naming him as a joint owner, even though he had not contributed monetarily. Burden details how she gave up a job offer and professional ambitions for the sake of their children and her husband’s career.
“We had made an unspoken bargain: he would work all the time and I would take care of the kids all the time,” she explained.
Her story serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of wise legal and marital decisions, especially when wealth and legacy are at stake.
To read more about Belle Burden’s experience and lessons from her new memoir, visit the story below.
Read the full article on Fox News
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