Gordon Ramsay, the British chef best-known for his TV series "Kitchen Nightmares," has called a reported $3 million truce with his father-in-law and former business partner, Chris Hutcheson, after he allegedly hacked into Ramsay's email account to swindle more than $2 million from the chef's business accounts.
Hutcheson used the money to finance a longstanding affair with a woman who is not Ramsay's mother-in-law. Ramsay's wife, Tana, who sided with her husband, has since severed ties with her father after finding out he kept a secret second family for over 30 years.
The drama has led to the dissolution of the family business. Hutcheson had a 30 percent stake in Gordon Ramsay Holdings.
While Ramsay is reportedly paying Hutcheson an estimated $3 million in order to end all civil litigation between the two, an exact settlement amount is not being disclosed.
A rep for Ramsay told the Daily Mail:
"Gordon Ramsay and Gordon Ramsay Holdings have reached a settlement with Chris Hutcheson and other members of the Hutcheson family.
The terms of the settlement are confidential but we can confirm that Chris Hutcheson is no longer a director or shareholder of Gordon Ramsay Holdings and all civil litigation and employment tribunal claims brought by each of the two parties and other family members have been withdrawn."
The feud blew up in 2010, when the chef fired his father-in-law, and then sued him, after a private investigator found he had been swindling money to support an extravagant double life with his mistress.
Hutcheson denied the accusations and responded with a libel suit, which prompted Ramsay to publish an explosive open letter to his mother-in-law in the London Standard, explaining the family's personal drama to the world.
A source revealed to the Mail, "Gordon has spent a fortune to get to this point—not just on lawyers but accountants and computer experts. He wanted to sever every tie with his father-in-law, but of course it's meant Tana has had to pay a very heavy price."
Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
See Also:
- Top 10 Late Night Moments With David Letterman
- Time Warner Gives Ryan Gosling To The People, For $1.99
- Snooki: 'I'm Not Pregnant!'