Liza Minnelli is no longer claiming her estranged husband tried to poison her. David Gest is no longer claiming his estranged wife tried to give him herpes. And that's about as amicable as it's gonna get.
The couple settled their differences—their legal ones, anyway—in New York State Supreme Court Thursday, coming to a confidential agreement in their suits and countersuits, and paving the way for their divorce to be finalized, more than three years after proceedings first began.
"Liza Minnelli and David Gest have resolved all disputes between them, and the parties will be divorced without fault on the part of either of them," Gest's lawyer, Susan M. Moss, said.
While terms of the settlement remain private, the duo will withdraw their divorce petition from the New York courts and refile in Tennessee, where Gest has a home and where neither party will be forced to claim culpability for the marriage's demise, as the state deals in no-fault divorces.
Moss said that the formerly contentious couple will file the new divorce papers in Memphis within the next few weeks.
And while the 60-year-old singer and her 53-year-old producer hubby won't admit to fault in the impending divorce, should they wish to pass the blame buck, Michael Jackson may be a good candidate: The pop icon introduced the couple.
Minnelli and Gest tied the knot in New York on March 16, 2002, in a bizarre showbiz ceremony that included Elizabeth Taylor as maid of honor and Jackson as best man.
Wedded bliss was short-lived, however. About a year and one failed VH1 reality show later, the two separated in July 2003 and filed dueling divorce petitions that fall.
And then it got personal.
Before filing for divorce, Gest launched a $10 million lawsuit against Minnelli, claiming she routinely beat him while in a drunken rage and that the pain was so intense that he was hospitalized with nerve damage.
Minnelli wasted no time in countersuing, claiming Gest was a manipulative clean freak who had stolen $2 million from her bank account during their relationship tenure. She later amended her complaint with the additional allegation that Gest had tried to poison her.
It was then that Gest claimed his wife had attempted to give him herpes by having unprotected sex with him without divulging her alleged disease.
While Gest's lawsuit was thrown out by a judge in September, he had initially hinted that he would seek an appeal. In light of the new settlement between him and Minnelli, it's unlikely he'll pursue the case.