An old-money heiress who was dumped by her husband of 20 years during lockdown has now revealed the horrifying way she learned about his affair.
Flobelle ‘Belle’ Fairbanks Burden’s marriage came to an abrupt end while she, her ex Henry Davis and their daughters were sheltering from Covid at her $7.5 million home in Martha’s Vineyard.
Just six days into lockdown, Burden received a call – which she declined – from an unknown caller claiming that Davis was having an affair, she has revealed in an excerpt from her upcoming memoir Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage that was published in The Times.
‘I’m trying to reach Belle,’ a man said in the haunting voicemail. ‘I’m sorry to tell you this, but your husband is having an affair with my wife.’
Burden, 56, confronted Davis about his infidelity, alleging he admitted to having a relationship with a 35-year-old woman whom he met through work.
Davis’s mistress attempted suicide after the month-long illicit relationship was unmasked, the heiress recalled in her book, which seemingly shook him.
The next morning Davis, 60, told her he wanted a divorce, backed a bag and left for New York City without even saying goodbye to their daughters. He did, however, allegedly admit that he wanted to check on his mistress and make sure she was ok.
He said he was unhappy, did not want their Massachusetts house or NYC apartment, and told Burden she could have sole custody of their children, she recalled.
Burden, who was 50 when they separated, claimed that one of the last things Davis told her before he left there was: ‘You’ll be fine. You’re still young.’
Flobelle ‘Belle’ Fairbanks Burden, 56, is pictured at her Martha’s Vineyard home with her son Finn in a photo shared to her Instagram last week. It is unclear when the photo was taken
She and her hedge funder husband Henry Davis (pictured together in 2008) separated in March 2020 after nearly 21 years of marriage
Burden and Davis were sheltering from covid at her $7.5 million home in Martha’s Vineyard when his mistress’s husband called Burden to inform her that Davis was having an affair
When Davis walked out, he let Burden keep both their apartment in NYC and the Martha’s Vineyard estate (file photo of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts)
Burden – whose grandmother was legendary socialite Babe Paley – said the family relocated to Martha’s Vineyard on March 15, 2020.
She received the earth shattering phone call on March 21 and Davis left the very next day.
To this day, Burden still does not know why Davis wanted out of their marriage or if that one fling was his only affair. ‘I don’t know why he left. I don’t think I ever will,’ she penned in the memoir, which hits bookstore shelves this Tuesday.
Burden has previously spoken about her hedge funder husband’s infidelity, but the new book offers more details about how the secret relationship was unearthed.
The NYC based lawyer claimed Davis told her how he met his mistress through work and that she was a mother-of-two. He even revealed her name, though Burden kept her anonymous in the memoir.
At first he claimed the affair ‘meant nothing,’ was ‘over’ and that he still loved his wife, the heiress recalled.
But he quickly changed his narrative and, after making it to NYC, told Burden during a call: ‘I thought I was happy but I’m not. I thought I wanted our life but I don’t. I feel like a switch has flipped. I’m done.’
Shortly after fleeing Massachusetts, Davis ‘bought a sleek new Manhattan apartment, hired a well-known divorce lawyer,’ Burden revealed in a previous interview with the New York Times.
She shared how he treated her with a ‘consistent lack of empathy or sentiment’ and after a few weeks, Davis stopped contacting her altogether.
She claimed his two siblings, whom she’d also been close to, ghosted her and said they could no longer speak to her because they needed to support Davis.
Belle Burden is pictured last month with her daughter Georgia Davis, who just celebrated her 21st birthday
Burden (pictured last month unboxing her new memoir) has previously spoken about her hedge funder husband’s infidelity, but her book Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage offers more details about how the secret relationship was unearthed
Burden is the granddaughter of socialite and fashion editor Babe Paley, pictured in 1948
In her new memoir, Burden noted that Davis does occasionally see their three children for dinners and tennis matches, but has not been involved in co-parenting.
She remains their sole guardian and alleges there have been ‘no handovers or holidays since the day he left.’
Burden, a descendant of railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, married Henry Patterson Davis in June 1999 at her stepmother Susan’s home in Water Mill, NY after the pair met at a corporate law firm.
Their nuptials were announced in the New York Times. She said Davis’ ‘steadiness’ made her fall in love with him and he had a likeness to her father Carter Burden – who served as a New York City Councilman from 1969 to 1978.
She recalled, at the time of their wedding, how she fell for Davis the minute he walked into her office, shut the door and kissed her.
She claimed that a then love-stuck Davis had been ‘intent on marrying’ her within weeks of the kiss.
But Burden has also previously hinted at another side to her husband, saying he had a ‘rebellious past’ that included ‘brushes with the law’ and a trail of broken romances.
The Harvard University educated lawyer also noted how she was been left the year she turned 50 – the same age Davis ‘reached a pinnacle of professional success.’
