Guide Note

In a six-minute rant posted on YouTube on April 10, 2008, British actress and playwright Tricia Walsh Smith aired a quantity of dirty laundry regarding her bitter divorce from Shubert Organization president Philip Smith. Smith said in the video that this was her way of "fighting back."¹ Her divorce was made final on July 21, 2008. She was ordered to leave her Park Avenue apartment within 30 days and Philip Smith was ordered give her $750,000.²

Fast Facts

1. Age: 52 years old in 2008
2. Born in Germany
3. Studied at the Italia Conti Academy of Dramatic Arts
4. Appeared in over 500 TV commercials³
5. Ex-husband: 76-year-old Philip Smith
6. Married Philip Smith in 1999
7. Publicly ranted about her pending divorce in what became popularly known as the YouTube Divorce Video
8. Judge ruled against her on July 21, 2008⁴
9. Judge called the video "a calculated and callous campaign to embarrass and humiliate her husband"²
10. Awarded just $750,000⁴

The divorce was finalized on July 21, 2008. The judge criticized Smith for her attempt to publicly humiliate her husband. She was ordered to vacate her Park Avenue apartment within 30 days and was awarded $750,000.²

Smith, 50, tearfully lashes out at her 75-year-old ex-husband-to-be, accusing him of forcing her out of their luxurious 9-room apartment, on New York's Park Avenue, through an alleged clause in their pre-nuptial agreement. Smith also calls her husband's office and asks the secretary to ask him what she should do with a stash of porn, Viagra, and condoms that she has found.

"We never had sex. He said it was because he had high blood pressure."—YouTube Divorce Video¹

"I have had a really horrible few years. I must be the biggest schmuck going. But I'm going to be a warrior, I'm trying to be a warrior. Maybe, maybe I'll win."—YouTube Divorce Video¹

"I think it's disgusting. I'm really, really disappointed with the decision."²—On divorce ruling July 21, 2008