Society heiress Flobelle ‘Belle’ Fairbanks Burden has written at length about the day her idyllic life was ruined, as her husband of 20 years revealed out of the blue that he was having an affair with a younger woman, and dumped her on the spot.
Now, she has revealed that in the acrimonious months that followed their shock split, her multi-millionaire partner made an ice-cold move which cemented her fears that he also did not want any future involvement in their children’s lives.
Burden, 56, told the New York Times that her husband, financier Henry Davis, 60, bought a two-bedroom apartment in New York City shortly after their divorce – a home much too small to host his three offspring.
‘I still thought he would want to make a home for his children, that he wouldn’t follow through on his decision to have no custody and no overnights,’ Burden said.
The final nail in the coffin came when Davis converted his second bedroom into a home office, leaving zero space for any visitors.
Burden, an old-money NYC lawyer hailing from the Vanderbilt dynasty, previously shared her anguish after her financier husband dumped her out of the blue during the first coronavirus lockdown.
She said her husband announced that he wanted to end their marriage while they sheltered from COVID at their $4.7 million Martha’s Vineyard holiday in spring 2020.
In a soul-baring article for the New York Times published 2023, she detailed the moment she, Davis and their two younger children, then 15 and 12, took shelter from the pandemic on the island – only to suddenly find herself a single mother.
Society heiress Flobelle ‘Belle’ Fairbanks Burden has written at length about the day her idyllic life was ruined, as her husband of 20 years revealed out of the blue that he was having an affair with a younger woman, and dumped her on the spot. She is pictured with her ex, Henry Davis
When Davis walked out, he let Burden keep both their apartment in NYC and the Martha’s Vineyard estate (file photo of the latter area)
Arriving on March 15 2020 Burden, a New York-based socialite who is a descendant of railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, described the stability and routine the family had while escaping lockdown as ‘delightful’ in the early days.
But that was quickly shattered six days into lockdown, when Burden received a call – which she declined – from an unknown number claiming that Davis was having an affair with a 35-year-old woman.
She revealed the details of the call this week 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 that he admitted to having a relationship with a much younger woman whom he met through work.
Davis’ mistress attempted suicide after the month-long illicit relationship was unmasked, the heiress recalled in her book.
The next morning, Davis told her he wanted a divorce, packed 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, at her Martha’s Vineyard home with her son Finn in a photo shared to her Instagram last week. It is unclear when it was taken
In a soul-baring article for the New York Times, Burden detailed the moment she, Davis and their two younger children, then 15 and 12, took shelter from the pandemic on the island
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
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 with her daughter, Georgia Davis, who celebrated her 21st birthday last month
Burden unboxes her new memoir, which offers details about how her husband’s secret relationship was unearthed
Burden is the granddaughter of socialite Babe Paley, who rose to fame in the 1930s
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’s ‘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.
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.’
