Dodi Fayed’s Fiancé Before Princess Diana Sued Him After Evidence Of Their Affair
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Just weeks before the car crash that killed them both, Dodi Fayed’s fiancé sued him after he was photographed appearing intimate with Princess Diana. A rumored couple, the Egyptian businessman and the newly single royal arrived in Paris after a 10-day getaway on the French Riviera.
It’s believed that Diana and Fayed planned to travel to Fayed’s private estate in Paris, but they died in the early hours of August 31, 1997, after her car crashed in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel following a chase from the paparazzi. The driver of the Mercedes-Benz W140, Henri Paul, was also killed, while Diana’s bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, survived the crash with serious injuries.
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According to Oprah magazine, the posted speed limit for the road was 30 miles per hour, however, Paul approached the entrance of the tunnel at around 70 miles per hour, which led him to lose control of the car and collide with a pillar in the middle of the highway. In critical condition, Diana was rushed to the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital where she died.
Diana suffered from a concussion, a broken arm, a cut thigh and massive chest injuries. After a two-hour operation to save her, the doctors failed to get Diana’s heart to beat properly and she never regained consciousness. She died from internal bleeding at 4:53 a.m. on August 31, 1997. As mentioned, just weeks before his death, Dodi Fayed’s fiancé sued him for his alleged affair with Diana. Here’s what we know about Kelly Fisher.
Dodi Fayed’s fiancé Kelly Fisher
Kelly Fisher was born and raised in Kentucky but relocated to Toronto, Canada at the age of 8 with her father. She began modeling at 16 when she signed with an agency that would soon grace the pages of some of the world’s most recognized magazines: Elle, Vogue, and Cosmopolitan, to name a few.
Fisher traveled a lot for work and met Dodi in Paris in July 1996. The couple reportedly became engaged after eight months of dating, and Dodi gave Fisher a sapphire and diamond engagement ring ahead of their planned wedding, which was scheduled to take place on August 9, 1997.
When photos emerged of Princess Diana and Dodi embracing on a yacht off the coast of Sardinia and became front-page news, Fisher held a press conference along with her mom and renowned lawyer Gloria Allred, who announced she would be suing Dodi for breach of the marital contract. Her sparkly engagement ring was displayed for photographers. Allred argued that Dodi encouraged Fisher to spend less time modeling and more time with him, and he allegedly offered her $500,000 as an incentive. Fisher said she only received $60,000, with a $200,000 check bouncing; her lawsuit was seeking the remainder.
“Miss Fisher loved and trusted Mr. Fayed. In return, he took her love and he gave every indication that they were going to get married and that he would fulfill his promises to her. In the end, he betrayed her and has humiliated her in the eyes of her friends and family and numerous others who were aware of the relationship and have now seen the evidence of his public betrayal,” Allred told reporters at the time while a tearful Fisher looked on.
Fisher’s mother Judith also issued a statement at the press conference: “A frog who wishes to become a prince charming, Mr. Fayed may be able to afford princely clothing and act as though he is of royal blood, but beneath that exterior, there is no prince only a frog in prince’s clothing,” she said. “No one’s daughter deserves to be treated as my daughter was. Kelly loved him, trusted him and has been treated very cruelly by him. Dodi Fayed should be ashamed because he has not only hurt her but my whole family.” Dodi’s father, meanwhile, Mohamed Al-Fayed slammed Fisher as a “gold digger” at the time, the family denying his son had ever proposed marriage, but did concede that they knew each other.
The lawsuit was dropped after Dodi and Diana were killed in Paris. Allred said in a statement at the time, “Out of respect for the tragedy, and tremendous loss the Fayed family has suffered, she has authorized me as her attorney, to dismiss her lawsuit against Mr Fayed. Although she does have the legal right to pursue the lawsuit against his estate after his death, she has voluntarily chosen not to exercise that right.” She continued, “Kelly loved Dodi very much, and she is devastated by his loss, and that of Princess Diana. Nothing is more important than the life of a human being. In the light of this enormous tragedy, Kelly forgives Dodi for all of his past injustices against her.”
In 2008, transcripts of phone calls between Dodi and Fisher were made public via the Royal Courts of Justice, suggesting that Fisher and Dodi were intimate with each other at the same time he was seducing Diana. “You even flew me down to St. Tropez,” Fisher told Fayed, “to sit on a boat while you seduced Diana all day and f—ing me all night.”
In another conversation, Fisher told Fayed: “I don’t understand how one day we’re in love and then … why are you doing this to me?” Fayed began, “Kelly, you went with … ” before Fisher cut him off. “I didn’t go with anyone in a year. Why are you doing this? Because it’s Princess Diana?” Fisher asked. “Will you stop it? We broke up, Kelly,” Fayed said. “You are f—ing crazy,” said Kelly. “We were together the whole time. And you knew it.”
Diana: Her True Story — In Her Own Words
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For more about Princess Diana, read Andrew Morton’s biography, Diana: Her True Story — In Her Words. The New York Times bestseller, which was first published in 1992, is the only authorized biography about Princess Diana. The book, which Diana collaborated on, includes raw and unfiltered quotes from the Princess of Wales about her unhappy marriage to Prince Charles, her relationship with Queen Elizabeth II, her life in the House of Windsor, and her hopes, dreams and fears for her children, Prince William and Prince Harry, before her death in 1997. The biography, which has been described as the “closest we will ever come” to a Princess Diana autobiography, was republished with new material in 2017 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the People’s Princess’ death.
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