A respected lawyer from New York City has opened up about her emotional turmoil after her wealthy financier husband abruptly ended their 20-year marriage during the COVID-19 lockdown, choosing to be with another woman and expressing no interest in taking custody of their children, Your Content has learned.
Flobelle ‘Belle’ Fairbanks Burden, a member of an affluent NYC family and descendant of Cornelius Vanderbilt, disclosed the series of events that unfolded when her husband, Henry Davis, announced his desire to divorce while they sought refuge from the pandemic at their lavish $4.7 million holiday home on Martha’s Vineyard in the spring of 2020.
The 54-year-old attorney shared the initial joy the family experienced upon their arrival on March 15, 2020, and described the idyllic routine they established while escaping the constraints of lockdown.
However, their newfound sense of stability shattered when Burden discovered her husband’s secret affair.
Recalling the painful moment, Burden wrote, “A week later, on March 22, at 6 a.m., my husband told me he wanted a divorce. He packed a bag, got in his Jeep, and boarded a ferry. We had been married for nearly 21 years. When he reached New York City, he laid out his narrative: He thought he had wanted our life but didn’t. He thought he was happy but wasn’t. A switch had flipped. He didn’t want our house or our apartment. He didn’t want any custody of our children.”
Burden went on to share her experience of being treated with a consistent lack of empathy or sentiment by her estranged husband, who swiftly acquired a sleek new Manhattan apartment and enlisted a well-known divorce lawyer.
After a few weeks, Davis ceased all communication with her, leaving Burden feeling abandoned not only by her husband but also by his siblings, who cut ties with her to support their brother.
While Burden refrained from divulging specific details about her husband’s affair and its current status, she expressed her profound shock and recounted planting blueberry bushes in the garden of their luxurious property the previous year, believing they were living a blissful and idyllic married life.
Reflecting on their initial courtship, Burden reminisced about the qualities that drew her to Davis, highlighting his resemblance to her late father and his commitment to caring for her.
She revealed that Davis had proposed within weeks of their first kiss, pledging to step into her father’s role as her protector.
The couple married in June 1999, and their union was celebrated in the pages of the New York Times.
However, Burden hinted at a darker side to her husband, alluding to his rebellious past, encounters with the law, and a trail of broken relationships that occasionally led to women stalking him.
She also spoke of her growing isolation, exacerbated by Davis’s cold demeanor, which caused her to lose weight and struggle with her emotional well-being.
Despite the immense pain and confusion caused by her husband’s sudden departure, Burden stated that she has found some closure.
While occasionally catching sight of Davis in their shared city neighborhood stirs a familiar feeling, she reminds herself that he is now a stranger to her.
The online presence of a single photograph featuring Burden, her stepmother, and Davis at a gala in 2008 serves as a reminder of the past, according to DailyMail.