The inheritance dispute surrounding the late French screen icon Brigitte Bardot has intensified following the leak of a private letter that appears to show her severing ties with her longtime companion.
The handwritten note, dated November 2022, three years before her death at her Saint Tropez residence, accuses Bernard de Chiara of "patiently destroying me day after day." The letter has become a potent weapon for the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which de Chiara has accused of hastily disposing of the estate without regard for her friends and loved ones.
Just a week ago, de Chiara, 85, was compelled to vacate La Madrague, the seaside home he shared with Bardot since the early 1990s. Having been financially supported by her for years, he reportedly lacks both a bank account and a social security card.
De Chiara was also incensed by the Foundation's September sale of household items, primarily from Bardot's Paris apartment, which raised nearly €1 million (£835,000). The proceeds were split between the Foundation and Bardot's only son, Nicolas Charrier.
"I found it extraordinary that just a few months after Brigitte's death, they already wanted to make a souvenir out of her. I did not appreciate that one bit," de Chiara said.
In the letter, which opens with "Bernard, it's a failure!", Bardot expressed that she had given "everything" in the hope of finding a companion who could reciprocate her love and share her joys and immense sorrows. She concluded: "Today I have reached the end-point of my distress... I am so in need of a shoulder, a support, a tenderness, a presence - which you are incapable of giving."
Known by the adopted name d'Ormale, a pun on the French phrase meaning "sleeps badly," de Chiara was a businessman and former associate of far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. Friends describe his relationship with Bardot as turbulent. They were never legally married under French law, but he lived with her until her death and cared for her during her final days.
When her will was read last December, the estate was divided between the Foundation and her son, who lives quietly in Oslo. De Chiara was not mentioned, and Bardot stipulated that La Madrague should be vacated within six months of her death.
As lawyers compile a definitive list of the actress's assets, the Foundation has accused de Chiara of removing items from La Madrague, including her Mini Moke jeep. "I am not accusing him of theft, but it's gone and that's a problem," said Foundation President Max Guazzani on Tuesday.
According to the Foundation, de Chiara has no legal claim except for a share of the Paris apartment, which is now on the market. He is currently living in an apartment rented from the Saint Tropez town hall.
Guazzini acknowledged that "on a human level one can understand" de Chiara's reluctance to leave La Madrague, but insisted: "It's the law and it's also what Brigitte Bardot wanted. It's not our fault that she did not leave him the right to live there. What else are we supposed to do?"
The high cost of maintaining La Madrague and Bardot's second home, La Garrigue, in the hills behind the Mediterranean coast, means the Foundation must find ways to make the properties pay. Both houses were in poor condition when she died and now require round-the-clock security.
A proposed museum has been abandoned because La Madrague is inaccessible by car. Instead, the house could be opened for guided tours, fashion displays, and film shoots.
After retiring from cinema in 1973, Bardot devoted her life to animal welfare, and her foundation now cares for 13,000 animals. She was married three times before meeting de Chiara: to filmmaker Roger Vadim, actor Jacques Charrier, and industrial heir Gunter Sachs. French media report that she married de Chiara in a ceremony in Norway, but this was never registered under French law.
