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The dispute over the estate of film legend Brigitte Bardot, who died last year, received new developments after the newspaper Le Figaro published a letter from the actress in which she apparently breaks off relations with her last life partner, Bernard di Chiara d'Ormal. Bardot bequeathed her property to the Fondation Brigitte Bardot Animal Welfare Fund she created and to her son, while she left no inheritance to Bernard di Chiara, with whom she lived for more than 30 years.
In a letter addressed to Di Chiara, which was written in November 2022 (three years before the actress’s death), she accuses her companion of “persistently destroying” her “day after day.”
Bardo writes that she gave “everything,” hoping to find a companion who could return her love, share her “joys and immeasurable sorrows” and “who would be happy with the life” she gave him.
“Today I have reached the limit of my suffering... I so need a shoulder, support, tenderness, someone’s presence - and you are not able to give it to me,” says the actress’s letter addressed to Bernard di Chiara, her companion for more than 30 years.
This letter became a powerful argument for the Animal Welfare Fund, to which Bardo bequeathed a significant part of her inheritance. Di Chiara previously accused the Foundation of rushing to dispose of her property without taking into account the interests of Bardo's friends and relatives.
Di Chiara was furious when the Brigitte Bardot Foundation organized a sale of furnishings from the late actress's Paris apartment in September. The proceeds, amounting to almost 1 million euros, were divided between the foundation and Bardot's only son, Nicolas Charrier.
“I was amazed that just a few months after Brigitte’s death they had already decided to make a souvenir out of it. I didn’t like it at all,” Di Chiara said.
Dispute between the Bardo Foundation and her companion
Following Brigitte Bardot's death last December, her will was read, dividing her inheritance between the Foundation and her only son. The actress’s will did not say anything about Bernard di Chiara. In addition, she stipulated that no one should live in her villa La Madrag on the Cote d'Azur for six months after her death.
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A week ago, 85-year-old di Chiara was forced to leave the La Madrague villa, where he had lived with Bardot since the early 1990s.
“I lived in La Madrague for 35 years and now they’re kicking me out the door - can you believe it? These are personal things. Why have this sale? For the sake of animals? This is just ridicule and disrespect for Brigitte’s memory,” di Chiara said in an interview with the French newspaper Nice Matin.
The head of the Fondation Brigitte Bardot, Max Guazzini, said that “on a human level one can understand [de Chiara’s reluctance to leave La Madrague].” But, as the head of the foundation emphasizes, such was the will of the actress.
“We are not to blame for the fact that she did not leave him the right to live there. What else can we do? Guazzini said.
The high costs of maintaining Bardot's villas on the Mediterranean coast - La Madrague and La Garrigue - are forcing the fund to look for ways to make these properties generate some income. At the time of Bardot's death, both villas were not in very good condition, and now require round-the-clock security.
The idea of creating a museum had to be abandoned because it is impossible to drive to La Madrague by car. Alternatively, the possibility of conducting excursions, as well as using the house for fashion shows or filming, is being considered.
Now that lawyers are compiling a final list of the late actress's assets, the Animal Welfare Fund has accused Di Chiara of taking some of the things from the La Madrague villa, including the actress's Mini Moke jeep.
"I'm not accusing him of stealing, but the car is not there and that's a problem," Foundation President Max Guazzini said Tuesday.
According to the fund, di Chiara has no legal claims, except for a share in a Paris apartment that is now up for sale. In the meantime, he lives in an apartment rented from the Saint-Tropez city hall.
Businessman and Le Pen associate
Bernard di Chiara d'Ormal is a former industrialist who was known to sympathize with French nationalists and was an adviser to Jean-Marie Le Pen in the 1990s.
According to French media reports, Bardot married Bernard di Chiara in Norway in the 1990s, but the union was not registered under French law.
In recent years, the actress has fully provided for her companion financially. Di Chiara reportedly does not have his own bank account or Social Security card.
Friends say he and Bardot had a rocky relationship. At the same time, di Chiara remained with Bardo until her death and took care of her when she was seriously ill.
After ending her film career in 1973, Brigitte Bardot dedicated her life to protecting animals. According to her foundation, the organization currently has 13,000 animals under its care.
Before meeting Di Chiara, Bardot was married three times: to film director Roger Vadim, actor Jacques Charrier and heir to an industrial empire, Gunter Sachs.
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