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NYC heiress reveals the shocking moment she learned of her husband’s affair
Belle Fairbanks Burden discovered her husband Henry's affair through a voicemail in 2020.
A New York City heiress has opened up about the moment she learned that her husband of 21 years was having an affair. Flobelle “Belle” Fairbanks Burden, the granddaughter of legendary socialite Babe Paley, revealed details of the shocking moment in her upcoming memoir “Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage”.
An excerpt from the book was published by the Times of London recently.
The affair
In March 2020, Flobelle “Belle” Fairbanks Burden and her hedge fund executive husband, Henry Davis, were at their $7.5 million second home in Martha’s Vineyard. The couple, along with their two youngest children, were preparing to spend the pandemic in quarantine at the luxury property.
It was during this time that Belle, 56, received a phone call from an unknown number that would change her life.
In the excerpt, Belle said she initially declined the phone call, not recognizing the number. The person on the other end left her a voicemail.
“I’m trying to reach Belle. I’m sorry to tell you this, but your husband is having an affair with my wife,” the shocking voicemail said.
The NYC heiress confronted her husband Henry Davis, who admitted to the affair. Henry, 60, said he had met a much younger woman through work and started a relationship with her.
The aftermath
However, Henry Davis also insisted that he was “embarrassed” about the affair. He claimed that it had only been going on for “a few weeks,” and it was now “over”.
Belle said that her husband’s mistress tried to take her own life after the affair was exposed. That, at least, was what her husband claimed.
When Belle texted him to ask how long the affair had been going on, the mistress’s husband replied, “I think a month”.
“But I can’t text because my wife has tried to kill herself. She’s in an ambulance,” he added.
The divorce
A day after the discovery, Henry told his wife Belle that he wanted a divorce. He allegedly left without saying goodbye to their children, drawing the curtain on a marriage of more than two decades.
“I thought I was happy but I’m not. I thought I wanted our life but I don’t,” he reportedly told Belle. “I feel like a switch has flipped. I’m done.”
The 60-year-old told his wife that she could have their houses and custody of the children.
“You can have the [Martha’s Vineyard] house and the [New York] apartment. You can have custody of the kids. I don’t want it. I don’t want any of it,” he reportedly said.
Belle Burden said that to this day, she does not understand why her husband ended their 21-year marriage so abruptly. Henry has never offered an explanation and even stopped taking her calls.
“I’ll answer what I want, when I want. I’ll speak when I want. I’ll decide when I want,” he reportedly told the NYC heiress.
Today, almost five years later, Henry has limited contact with their children — meeting them occasionally for tennis matches and meals. He is not actively involved in their lives.
(Also read: Woman files for divorce after ChatGPT ‘exposes’ husband’s affair through coffee cup)
