The disinherited husband of French cinema icon Brigitte Bardot was allegedly caught on security cameras stashing away personal belongings from their former villa, according to reports. Bernard d'Ormale, 85, is said to have been filmed with bags of mementos, including "gold coins, jewellery and guitar," as a dispute continues over the late actress's will.
Bardot, who died in December at age 91, left d'Ormale nothing in her will. In a note, she reportedly stated of him: "You have patiently destroyed me, day after day, for 30 years."
A source close to the case told BFM TV that d'Ormale, described as having a "keen instinct for preservation and survival," was filmed stashing items at La Madrague, the seaside villa in Saint-Tropez the couple shared. The source claims he also hid Bardot's Mini Moke car.
"He stashed everything he could get his hands on," a former friend of Bardot told BFM TV.
D'Ormale, who now lives in a council flat after being evicted from the villa, has previously expressed anger over an auction of Bardot's possessions. He maintains he was acting to safeguard items, telling BFM TV, "Do you think Brigitte would have lived for 35 years with a thief and a liar? I am also the guardian of her memory. It breaks my heart to see her entire life being scattered."
Bardot's estate is reportedly set to go to her animal charity, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, and her son, Nicolas Charrier. D'Ormale's lawyer stated that her husband is an elderly man who was "treated deplorably by the foundation, worse than a criminal."
Bardot and d'Ormale had a religious wedding in Norway in 1992, but it lacked legal validity in France. Bardot retired from public life in 1973 after a career that included 45 films and 70 recorded songs. Her later years were marked by controversial political statements and convictions for inciting racial hatred.