Explosive lesbian romance that began between an 'Avenging Angel' and a much younger British actress at Davos ends in toxic High Court fight - as property tycoon battles to stop her 'poor' bride getting £225m fortune

One is a beautiful 34-year-old British actress and singer called Thea Bartok, who once appeared in an action comedy alongside Kate Beckinsale and Stanley Tucci.The other is Angelique 'Angel' Brunner, a black American entrepreneur two decades her senior, who was born into poverty but battled her way to a degree from an Ivy League university and went on to amass a fortune estimated at £225million.The couple first met by chance in 2019 in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, where both were attending the World Economic Forum, the annual conference that attracts the most powerful movers and shakers on the globe, from international statesmen to billionaire tycoons.Despite their age difference and the fact that Bartok was still married to a man, they instantly fell for each other. Thea, who was living in a rented flat in Notting Hill, was quickly incorporated into Angel's glamorous jet-set lifestyle.One picture from their photo album shows Brunner flying with Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson 'not as a passenger on one of his commercial airlines – but as a private jet buddy', while another shows Thea sitting on Angel's lap at a ski resort, the helicopter they had arrived in visible in the background.Other images reveal the couple 'enjoying the VIP life from the White House to White Hart Lane [the iconic Spurs football ground in north London]'. In one shot, Bartok is kissing Brunner on the lawn of the White House, which has a rainbow flag hanging between the pillars of its portico flanked by two Stars and Stripes flags.There's also a picture of the couple's Porsche, the car they drove in the UK, while another features 'the spectacular view of the New York skyline from Angel's penthouse'.But at some point last year their six-year relationship soured and they separated – initially at Thea's instigation – in September. British actress Thea Bartok, 34, met American millionaire Angelique Brunner at the Davos World Economic Forum in 2019 and the two began a whirwind romance Despite their 20-year age gap and the fact that Bartok was still married to a man, they fell for each other and got engaged in July 2019This fired the starting gun on what has proved to be a highly acrimonious divorce case which is being handled by Britain's most high-profile family law specialist, Ayesha Vardag, the opera-singing female lawyer who has been described as the 'Diva of Divorce'.In a four-day hearing in the High Court earlier this month, Bartok's barrister argued that the case should be held in the UK rather than the US – where Brunner is pushing for it to be heard – and both sides are now awaiting judgment.The case is complicated by the unorthodox way in which their marriage was formalised.After a whirlwind romance, the couple got engaged in July 2019 and married just six days later in a ceremony in Hawaii.No prenuptial agreement was in place when they tied the knot but the marriage was later discovered to be invalid because Bartok's divorce from her husband had not been finalised.The couple, who were by now living together in London at the first of a string of addresses in Notting Hill and South Kensington, had a second go the following April, when they organised a ceremony in Florida.But the wedding was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic and they were finally married officially – at the third attempt – on July 30, 2020, in the chic Colorado mountain resort of Steamboat Springs.But just 24 hours before the Colorado wedding, Brunner made a move that was to have far-reaching consequences. According to Thea, she was put 'under immense pressure' from her wife-to-be to accept a pre-nuptial agreement (PNA) that stipulated 'there would be no financial provision and no sharing of assets' if they got divorced.And when Thea consulted a lawyer, who suggested she ask for $10million in the event of a split, Brunner did not take it at all well.'We had planned a simple mountain ceremony,' Bartok says in her lawyers' skeleton argument. 'Everything had been agreed and booked in advance, and my godparents… had driven to Colorado from Texas to attend.'We eventually signed the PNA remotely in front of a notary and following a stressful and exhausting multiway video meeting with our respective lawyers, which was also time pressured due to the time of the notary appointment, Angel and I were legally married.'In the end, Bartok said she felt compelled to agree to a deal that would give her nothing if they broke up because her visa was about to expire and, 'if we were not able to marry, then I did not know when I would see Angel again'.Six years later, however, the couple are at daggers drawn. 'The case we have run in court is that Angel Brunner is a fabulously wealthy woman who is gaming the system,' says Ayesha Vardag. 'She is using her financial imperium to try to grind her wife down. It is controlling and coercive behaviour.'The judge was told that Bartok is facing eviction from her west London home after her estranged wife – an avenging 'Angel' in every sense, some might say – insisted she was not entitled to a penny following the end of their five-year marriage.In court papers submitted last week, Brunner is branded 'miserably mean' after her personal wealth soared from £67million at the time the couple met to what is estimated to be £225million.She is also accused in a skeleton argument presented by her wife's lawyers of ignoring divorce proceedings in the UK while employing 'a pattern of manipulation' – including a 'catch-me-if-you-can' approach to the British court's orders – to ensure that Bartok is left with nothing.Bartok's lawyers insist the divorce case should be heard in London, arguing that this is where the couple, who have no children, always lived together. However, Brunner insists she wants the divorce to be sorted out in Florida.Bartok's legal team say Angel's connection to the Sunshine State is 'so tenuous' – she bought a home in Florida 'just a matter of weeks' before she filed divorce papers there – that she probably didn't make the six-month residency qualification.They say the businesswoman is actually largely based in New York, Maryland and Washington DC, where she also has homes.They have branded her a 'forum shopper' who has been 'skipping' between the states – namely Florida and Colorado, where the couple wed – to find divorce laws that are least likely to force her to share any of her huge fortune.Florida abolished permanent alimony (indefinite financial support of a former spouse) in 2023 and, as an 'equitable distribution' state, it doesn't automatically divide marital assets equally – as many US states do – but according to circumstances. In England and Wales, courts have a presumption of equal sharing and no bias in favour of the main breadwinner.Brunner considered obtaining a pre-nuptial agreement in California – the state where she was born, says Bartok, but dropped the idea as soon as she discovered it would force her to share her millions equally should they ever part.Richard Todd KC, Bartok's barrister, described the dispute in court papers as 'a big money case' between 'the fabulously wealthy Angel and her poor (in every sense) bride, Thea.'He added: 'Thea is about to lose her home and her representation has been deliberately imperilled. It is despicable behaviour from a woman worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.'Mr Todd claimed the American businesswoman has since disengaged from the London proceedings and failed to pay even her own lawyers.At a hearing in May, High Court judge the Honourable Mr Justice McKendrick, confirmed that Brunner had been very unco-operative, refusing to submit to the jurisdiction of an English court and guilty of 'wholesale non-compliance' with his orders.She had never attended a hearing and had even stopped instructing lawyers to represent her, the judge said. He ruled her in contempt for failing to make maintenance payments to her wife of more than £11,000, or meet her legal expenses. Bartok was living in a rented flat in Notting Hill when she met Ms Brunner – but she was quickly incorporated into her glamorous jet-set lifestyle, staying in the finest hotels Brunner was born into poverty but battled her way to a degree from an Ivy League university and went on to amass a fortune estimated at £225million Such was the property tycoon's financial success that she considered Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson 'not as a passenger on one of his commercial airlines – but as a private jet buddy'Bartok, who was born in Hungary and attended St Andrew's University, has lived in the UK since 2016 and recently obtained British citizenship.She currently works as a 'wellness ambassador' at the luxury Raffles London hotel while 'continuing to make efforts to further her music career'.In addition to her small part in the 2021 Amazon action comedy, Jolt, she released a single, Wicked Game, two years later.Her lawyers say she was told by her landlord that she would be evicted – along with her pet dog Habibi – on May 26 because of non-payment of rent for the £1million flat she and Brunner once shared in South Kensington.But he later agreed to delay her eviction until this month while legal proceedings continued.Bartok was left feeling 'worthless' following the break-up of her marriage, said her barrister. And to compound her sense of despair while fighting the case, she was the victim of 'a curious burglary' in which her wedding dress was among items stolen from her home, he said.Brunner, meanwhile, continues to enjoy the benefits of her hard-charging ride from carer to a disabled brother following the death of both her parents in quick succession to super-rich venture capitalist.'Everyone wanted me to succeed, but no one believed it was possible,' Brunner, the first member of her family to go to university, told the financial magazine Forbes in 2018. 'I lived with five per cent odds of success after my mother died.'But she managed it and says she repaid the generosity shown to her in the form of scholarships from first Brown University and then Princeton by setting up a billion-dollar property business that has revitalised blighted neighbourhoods in Washington DC and created some 50,000 jobs.Brunner's immense wealth comes from EB5 Capital, a property investment company she set up in Maryland in 2008 and where she remains chief executive.As a pillar of the US business establishment, she serves on the boards of various corporate and public bodies. According to her company's website, she is also a 'frequent speaker on purpose-driven leadership and responsible capitalism'.Brunner won a Presidential Lifetime Achievement award during the Biden administration even though her industry – which exploits a US visa scheme that helps wealthy foreigners become permanent residents by investing in job-creating businesses – is deeply controversial.Critics say the capitalism that has enriched her is hardly 'responsible' as it is built around monetising the EB-5 visa, which effectively allows super-rich foreigners to buy a US 'green card' by investing at least $800,000 in local business.Politicians complain the scheme is often abused and should be scrapped. Opponents also say the programme has drifted away from its original intention to promote job growth in poor areas and instead often finances luxury projects.Brunner's company has recently been involved in two such ventures: a $150million Aspen chalet redevelopment and a 240-seat 'fine dining' restaurant in Washington DC.According to Brunner, she was at 'a retreat' when Thea served her with divorce papers but, within hours of learning of the action, she filed her own petition for divorce in Florida, while also going on to file legal papers in Colorado.Brunner claims to have a video which, she insists, would show there was no pressure on her wife to agree to the pre-nup but Thea's lawyer says she has conspicuously failed to produce it so far. 'Angel was very much the dominant force in the negotiation,' he argues. At some point last year the couple's six-year relationship soured and they separated – initially at Bartok's instigation – and they are now heading for the High CourtDuring their relationship, the court heard, Brunner's wealth significantly increased from $90million (£67million) to 'hundreds of millions', although Brunner admits to having 'only $60,489,919 (£44,762,540)'.The Daily Mail has approached Brunner's company for comment on the case but it appears unlikely we will get a response.The court was told that Vardag's dogged pursuit of Angel was so comprehensive that the lists of attempts to engage with her ran to nine pages – all to no avail.Ms Vardag added: 'Our case is that Angel Brunner is a fabulously wealthy woman who is gaming the system. 'She is using her financial imperium to try to grind her wife down. It is controlling and coercive behaviour. At its heart is a catch-me-if-you-can attitude. The Court was told that Ms Vardag's eponymous law firm's pursuit of Angel was so comprehensive that the lists of attempts to engage her ran to nine pages.How this rancorous transatlantic divorce will play out remains to be seen – but there is no doubt the intense chemistry that drew the couple together at Davos has dissolved into a very toxic compound indeed.