Model Laura Zilli, 35, (above) is the daughter of multi-millionaire celebrity chef, Aldo Zilli
Socialite Laura Zilli has split from her businessman husband who has gone broke with debts of over £22million, MailOnline can reveal.
Former reality TV star Laura, 35, daughter of celebrity chef Aldo Zilli, is in the process of a divorce from Nick Gold, 48, after barely two years of marriage, official insolvency papers show.
His creditors have agreed an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) as an alternative to bankruptcy.
The news will be a shock to Laura’s 5,000-plus followers, given the couple’s apparently lavish lifestyle, and loved-up social media posts.
The couple tied the knot in a spectacular beachside ceremony in Miami Beach in April 2018, then held another huge ‘reception’ seven months later in London with Boy George providing the music.
As Gold commented on his wife’s Instagram at the time: ‘I can never marry you enough times! Love you!’ The couple have a four-year-old son, whose fifth birthday is on Wednesday [Dec 9].
Mr Gold is a former part-owner of The Box cabaret club, whose celebrity clientele has included Prince Harry, Kate Moss and Keira Knightley.
The club, in Soho, opened in 2011, a year before the British Horseracing Authority ‘excluded’ Mr Gold and his father, Peter, from the sport after an inquiry found that they were linked to a race-fixing ring, although no criminal allegations were made.
Documents relating to the IVA seen by MailOnline show that Mr Gold’s creditors, who include his brother Daniel (owed £6.4m alone), business associates and online trading and spread betting firms, are owed a total of £22,038,795.50
Laura is seen here marrying Nick Gold at a star-studded event in Miami Beach in April 2018
Mother-of-one Laura appeared the picture of happiness as she kissed her groom at their US wedding, a traditional Jewish ceremony in front of high society friends
Laura (in a bikini right) often posts pictures of her enviable lifestyle with twice-married father of four Nick, (pictured together left) to her 5,000 Instagram fans
Laura is close to her famous father and is seen here recording a cookery show alongside him
In a report to creditors last month from insolvency practitioner Stephen Katz, they were told that following a meeting an Individual Voluntary Agreement had been approved and Mr Katz would supervise it.
IVAs are generally preferred to bankruptcy if the debtor still has some income. In Mr Katz’s report, it’s clear that Gold has sought help from his family.
Mr Katz added: ‘It is not unusual for an individual such as Mr Gold, who was clearly once in a strong financial position, to have to revert back to his family members and business associates to seek financial support.’
The news that he and Laura are engaged in ‘matrimonial’ proceedings was also spelt out:
‘The Debtor [Gold] is engaged in financial remedy proceedings,’ said the report
‘It is likely that the Debtor will need to make representations to the Court to have the Order varied given that he is not able to afford the obligations.
‘However, the Solicitors for the Debtor’s second wife [Laura] have advised that he has failed to provide sufficient explanation or evidence to support his case that the value of his assets has reduced from the level they were almost three years ago and had not provided full and frank disclosure.
Despite the globe-trotting pair enjoying all the trappings of success with private jets (above), it has seemingly come crashing down as the insolvency papers shows they are divorcing
Laura and Mr Gold’s life was a whirlwind of exotic foreign holidays where they were pictured on a jet ski – but behind the smiles their marriage has been marred by financial troubles
In 2012, Laura (piuctured above) briefly put her modelling career on hold to follow in her father’s footsteps and front a TV show and book called ‘High Class Cooker’
‘It is clear that the Debtor was once very wealthy but it has been explained in the Proposals the reasons why he is no longer in a strong financial position and despite requesting a list of alleged valuable assets from the Solicitors, none has been provided.’
Laura’s US wedding to Mr Gold was a traditional Jewish ceremony in front of high society friends including Laura’s Maid of Honour, Samantha Rowley, who at the time was linked to playboy James Stunt.
Chef to the stars Aldo (pictured) gave his daughter away at the glitzy Miami wedding
Chef to the stars Aldo gave his daughter away.
Laura and Samantha were roommates and rose to prominence together when they starred in reality show 7 Days, documenting the lives of Notting Hill residents in 2010.
At the time, Laura said her father was ‘apprehensive’ about her reality TV show appearance, yet he was excited to see her on the small screen.
In 2012, Laura briefly put her modelling career on hold to follow in her father’s footsteps and front a TV show and book called High Class Cooker.
But behind the exotic foreign holidays, a house in exclusive Primrose Hill and fast cars, Mr Gold and Laura’s married life has had its share of trials.
Shortly after their nuptials, Nick’s family found itself at the centre of a £4million scandal, accused of ‘conning’ the Swedish state – by selling ‘overpriced or mislabelled’ cleaning products to local councils.
His father Peter Gold, a wealthy British businessman now reportedly living in the U.S., set up no less than five companies selling everything from wet-wipes and bin-bags to printer ink and ‘ice-melting chemicals’, in Sweden in 2003.
Gold’s wife Janice and two sons, Daniel and Nick – were all listed as former directors for several of them.
Renowned investigative TV-show Uppdrag Granskning alleged that until they went into liquidation in 2017, the Golds’ companies had been paid 55 million kronor (£4.68m) in Swedish taxpayers’ monies – for goods the investigation claims were worth just five million (£430,000).
Less than two years after TV star Laura wed at Mr Gold, the pair have confirmed they have split
Seven months after their US wedding, Boy George (above) performed at a huge reception for them in London attended by stars including Laura’s father Aldo (left) and Lizzie Cundy (right)
They claimed that the companies were able to get local councils to sign orders for their goods by using ‘pushy and misleading telesales in combinations with bribes, gifts and threats’.
One council in Kil, Värmland, ended up with enough ‘ice-melting chemicals’ to last them 30 years, after a former council-worker signed up for deliveries from the company at a rate of 165 kronor (£14) per kilo, but analysis showed that the chemicals were 96 per cent road salt, worth only 8.5p per kg.
In total, the council reportedly bought 6,440kgs (14,197lbs) of ‘ice-melting chemicals’ from Universal Solutions, a Stockholm-based company where all four members of the Gold family are listed as former directors.
Nick Gold told The Times in 2018 that he had not been involved in the running of the Swedish companies to which he was appointed as a non-executive director by his father.
‘He thought that I might want to become involved in those businesses at a future date,’ he said. ‘In the event, I did not. I was not employed by any of the companies nor did I provide any services to the companies, or on their behalf, at any time.’
He said he was not a shareholder, did not attend any board meetings and had no contact with any of the companies’ employees or receive any pay, and his directorships ceased by 2011. ‘Knowing my father as I do, I have no reason to believe that the businesses operated by him have been run otherwise than in a legitimate and proper manner,’ he said.
His parents, who are thought to have moved to Florida, could not be contacted.
Last night Nick Gold confirmed his IVA and divorce to MailOnline, but added he had no further comment.
Ms Zilli did not respond to messages.
