Mills' Money Can't Buy Her Love

Tue., Mar. 18, 2008 12:16 PM PDT by Sarah Hall

Heather Mills may have scored a hefty settlement from Paul McCartney, but it's safe to say she didn't win any fans in the process.

In his ruling issued Monday, Judge Hugh Bennett called Mills "a less than impressive witness," and opined that her demands were "unreasonable, indeed exorbitant."

The judgment was made public Tuesday after Mills lost a bid to keep it from being published, arguing that it contained details could compromise her daughter's privacy. (View the court documents.)

The onetime Dancing with the Stars contestant was awarded a $48.6 million divorce settlement, after seeking close to $250 million of the former Beatle's fortune. McCartney had offered $31.6 million, plus the assets Mills already possessed.

Bennett wrote that Mills was "not just inconsistent and inaccurate but also less than candid" in her testimony. He found that she was dishonest about donating 80 to 90 percent of her income to charity, and that "her tax returns disclose no charitable giving at all."

McCartney, on the other hand, "was consistent, accurate and honest," according to the judge.

On top of the lump payment to Mills, McCartney was also ordered to pay $70,000 a year in child support for the twosome's four-year-old daughter, Beatrice, and to cover her school and childcare costs.

Mills called the child payments inadequate. "She's obviously meant to travel B class while her father travels A class," she told reporters Monday.

Meanwhile, Mills was apparently less than pleased with the conduct of McCartney's attorney, Fiona Shackleton, whom she claimed "called me many, many names before even meeting me when I was in wheelchair."

She allegedly expressed her dislike of the legal eagle by soaking her with a glass of water Monday, later telling the BBC the lawyer had been "baptized in court." Neither Shackleton nor McCartney commented on the situation; however, post-court photos of Shackleton showed her with wet hair.

Though the amount Mills, 40, was awarded was significantly less than she was seeking, she claimed to be "so, so happy" with the judge's ruling. The settlement amounts to about $34,000 for each day of her four-year marriage to McCartney, 65.