Tricia Walsh-Smith
Tricia Walsh-Smith (aka Tricia Walsh) is a British playwright and actress. In April, 2008 she became internationally famous after posting a YouTube video of herself discussing her divorce from her husband Philip Smith, president of The Shubert Organization.[1][2] In the video she explained that she was going to be unfairly evicted from her house in addition to describing alleged personal details of Smith's life.[3][4] Legal experts consider this the first known case where a spouse has used YouTube in attempt to gain leverage over the other in a divorce case.[5]
Walsh-Smith's case has generated scrutiny and debate by legal and psychology experts on the implications of broadcasting personal issues using media like YouTube.[4] Renowned psychologist Keith Ablow said, “We’re at a critical moment where people are turning to public broadcasts to express private thoughts. But I don’t think it’s connecting people necessarily. I think it’s disconnecting them from their own life stories.”[4] As for the legal implications in Walsh-Smith's divorce case, MSNBC's senior legal analyst Susan Filan told the show, "A judge isn’t really going to care. In the end, a divorce, as upsetting and emotional as it is, is just a financial transaction. You’re doing backwards math. You’re trying to make one household go into two. Somebody’s going to have to give something to somebody else.”[4]
Walsh-Smith has appeared on The Insider numerous times as well as Fox News Channel's On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.[1][6]
Divorce Granted
On July 21, 2008 a Manhattan judge awarded Philip Smith a divorce from Tricia Walsh-Smith on the grounds of cruel and inhuman treatment. The Judge, Harold Beeler, blasted Walsh-Smith for her YouTube video stunt, which he called "a calculated and callous campaign to embarrass and humiliate her husband" and to pressure him into settling the divorce case on more favorable terms than were stated in their prenuptial agreement. "She has attempted to turn the life of her husband into a soap opera by directing, writing, acting in and producing a melodrama," the judge said.
Judge Beeler also ruled that the prenuptial agreement, signed three weeks before the couple's 1999 wedding, was valid. Per that agreement, Walsh-Smith must leave the Park Avenue apartment the couple shared within 30 days and that Philip Smith, president of the Shubert Organization, the largest theater owner on Broadway, must pay her $750,000.[3][7]
Professional Career
Previously, Walsh-Smith appeared in more than 500 commercials on British television, on the Benny Hill Show and has written the play Bonkers which premiered in London in 1987.[3][7]
Early life
Originally from Beverley, East Yorkshire, Walsh-Smith attended the Italia Conti Academy and began appearing in commercials, most notably for Hellmann's Mayonnaise. Later she acted in the British horror film Terror and the childrens' television drama Grange Hill .[1][8]
While working as a Playboy Bunny at a Playboy Club on London's Park Lane, she met her first husband John Obertelli, with whom she had a son. The stormy marriage ended in divorce.[1] She had a brief second marriage to American businessman Jerald Arnold. [8] She met her current estranged husband, Philip Smith, at a Park Avenue wedding reception in 1995. The two married in New York City in 1999.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e Eaton, Phoebe (June 1, 2008). "The YouTube Divorcée". New York Magazine.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Honan, Edith (June 27, 2008). "Spurned wife defends tell-all YouTube videos". News Limited (Australia).
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c Leonard, Tom (June 27, 2008). "Tricia Walsh-Smith in court after YouTube rants". The Daily Telegraph.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d Celizic, Mike (April 17, 2008). "YouTube divorce rant has experts talking". MSNBC / The Today Show.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ staff (April 16, 2008). "YouTube divorce video released by Tricia Walsh Smith". Chicago Tribune.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Angry YouTube Divorcee Speaks Out (transcript)". Fox News Channel / On the Record. May 28, 2008.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b P, A (July 22, 2008). "Husband wins divorce from angry wife in YouTube video". CNN.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) Cite error: The named reference "DM" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ a b Hendry, Sharon (May 22, 2008). "Don't get mad get e-ven". The Sun.
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