Phil Collins sues ex-wife and her new husband, wants them out of his house
Singer and drummer Phil Collins is taking legal action against his ex-wife and her new husband.
The 69-year-old filed a motion for a temporary injunction Wednesday in Miami-Dade County against Orianne Cevey Collins Mejjati Bates, who he was married to between 1999-2006, and Thomas Bates, who married his ex-wife two months ago in August.
According to court documents obtained by TODAY, Collins alleges that the Bateses have "seized control" of Collins' property in Miami Beach, Florida that is worth approximately $40 million and contains "a collection of irreplaceable music memorabilia and other valuables." Collins' lawsuit also alleges that Orianne Bates hired three to four heavily armed guards that "refuse to leave the property."
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Bates, who is over 20 years younger than Collins, first met the musician in 1994 and when they married five years later, she became his third wife. They share two children, sons Nicholas and Matthew, who, according to the lawsuit, are now 19 and nearly 16 respectively.
Although Collins and Bates divorced 14 years ago, the lawsuit reveals that the former couple had rekindled their relationship approximately five years ago in 2015 and had been boyfriend and girlfriend. Collins, according to the filing, learned of his ex's new relationship with Thomas Bates in late July when she "was forced by her sons to tell Phil about 'Thomas.'"
The Bateses obtained a marriage license in Nevada on July 30 per marriage records filed in Clark County. In Collins' suit, it alleged that by late September, the Bateses had both moved into and occupied Collins' Miami Beach house. The lawsuit says the Bateses have "their own home(s) they can live in, and their own money to support themselves, once they are removed" from Collins' house, including a house in Las Vegas. "The fact that the newly wed defendants have taken Phil Collins' personal residence as their marital abode—by force of arms—is beyond outrageous," according to the filing.
Collins is represented by attorneys Michael B. Green of Gunster and Jeffrey D. Fisher, Zachary R. Potter and Gerald F. Richman of Fisher Potter Hodas PL.
TODAY reached out to Collins and Bates and both of their teams responded with no comment regarding the ongoing legal action.
The musician is a London native and in the lawsuit, it has been revealed that he also owns a home in Europe. The eight-time Grammy Award winner announced his retirement from music in 2011 but came out of retirement in 2015 and has since released an autobiography and gone on his "Not Dead Yet" and "Still Not Dead Yet" concert tour, which wrapped last year.
Collins shared a video of his son Nic on tour with him in Germany last June on Instagram, presenting the drum kit that was used on tour.
Collins is most known as the former drummer and lead singer for the band Genesis and as a solo artist whose debut single, "In the Air Tonight," was a top 20 hit on the Billboard 100 list. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame along with his Genesis bandmates, Mike Rutherford, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett and Tony Banks, in 2010.
Genesis rescheduled some of their "The Last Domino?" tour dates three months ago, pushing concerts that were supposed to go on in July to April 2021.
