My financial strategy? Find a new husband, Russian beauty queen tells divorce hearing

A Russian beauty queen and actress at the centre of a £6 million divorce battle at the Royal Courts of Justice in London has outlined her plans to secure her financial future: find new husband. Ekaterina Parfenova, who is seeking a multi-million pound settlement from her estranged husband Richard Fields, an American lawyer, said she had no plans to work but is a “very good wife” and hopes to remarry. 

She is vying for a £2.6 million share of their estimated £6 million assets plus an annual payout of up to £750,000. That would include £75,000 a year for holidays and mortgage payments on a £5.5 million flat near Kensington Palace.

The 42-year-old told the court on Tuesday that she did not marry Mr Fields, her second husband, for his money or lifestyle and originally thought he was a “driver” when they first met.

The case is one of the first high profile Family Court divorce hearings of its kind to be open to the public, after the judge, Mr Justice Holman, refused requests for it to be behind closed doors insisting people had a right to see justice “at work”.

The judge has made repeated attempts to get the couple to settle. When Ms Parfenova appeared reluctant to go back into the witness box to continue her evidence on Wednesday, he told her it was still not too late to stop “this terrible destructive conflict”.

Ms Parfenova, who first became a household name in Russia as a child star of the film Higher Than The Rainbow, was cross-examined by Stephen Trowell QC, representing 59-year-old Mr Fields, about her job prospects.

She speaks Russian, French and English and had worked as a translator in the past, and might even consider working as a personal assistant or estate agent. He asked her: "Do you intend to work after today?” She replied that she was not, adding: “I am a very good wife – I will try to find a husband.”

Mr Trowell continued: “You are only 42 and you have a lifetime ahead of you.” She said she wanted to spend as much time as possible with her two young children as they grew up, particularly over the next few years. But when Mr Trowell said she had a “duty” to exercise her earning capacity and should try to find some sort of work rather than relying on her husband to keep her, she replied: “I will certainly try.”

The former “Miss World University” winner wants £414,000 a year for herself and their two children plus extra payments relating to assets. She has picked out an apartment in Kensington she has described as “appropriate” to her needs. Mr fields has offered to pay her £230,000 a year and has suggested she consider living in Battersea, south of the Thames, an area best known for the dogs home and power station, now increasingly fashionable.

Her counsel Lewis Marks QC told the judge: “The husband's case is that my client married him for his money and he indulged her during the marriage. He said she constantly made demands for jewellery he could not afford.”

She married five-times-married Mr Fields in November 2002. Although a decree nisi was granted in March 2013 it has never been made absolute while they battled over money. Based mostly in Miami but also with a home in New York, Mr Fields is said to earn almost £1.3 million although his wife thinks it might be as high as £1.9 million.