The COVID-19 pandemic not only shut down Robert De Niro’s million-dollar businesses, but it apparently also soured his relationship with his ex-wife. The pandemic brought an unprecedented disaster that impacted the lives of every human on the planet.
Not only in terms of the constant threat to our lives from the ever-spreading disease but even earning the cost of the daily bread became a hassle for a lot of us.
The lengthy shutdowns not only made a lot of businesses lose customs and revenue but even more went completely out of business during those days. And obviously Hollywood fared no better as no shooting, or any related work was allowed.
As a result, Robert De Niro, even with being one of the highest-paid actors in the industry, took quite a financial hit at the time. Making matters worse, his famous restaurant and hotel chains had to shut down.
Obviously, the actor had to cut off a lot of his expenses at the time, and one of them was halving the credit card limit he had previously set for his ex-wife Grace Hightower. Unfortunately, though, Hightower did not really take it well and even went to court to complain about it.
Grace Hightower went to court complaining about Robert De Niro cutting expenses during the pandemic
Robert De Niro had quite a turbulent love life going far back to his first marriage to Diahnne Abbott back in 1976. Although the couple seemed really happy during their course of marriage with De Niro even adopting Abbott’s daughter Drena and having a son named Raphael, they eventually split in 1988.
The Taxi Driver star got seriously involved with model Toukie Smith after that and the former couple even welcomed twins with the help of surrogacy, until they too separated in 1996. The following year saw Robert De Niro tying the knot for a second time with Grace Hightower.
Although this was De Niro’s longest relationship to date with two more children in the mix, the twenty years of marriage went down the drain with the pair separating in 2018. Although their divorce isn’t finalized yet, it is known that De Niro pays a monthly sum to support his wife.
That sum happened to be in the form of a credit card with a monthly $100k allowance. And the amiable nature of De Niro’s relationship with Hightower went south when the Goodfellas actor had to cut that allowance in half.
As mentioned, just like most businesses in the world, De Niro’s famous Nobu chain of Restaurants and Hotels shut down during the pandemic. Along with the complete lock and key Tinseltown, too, was under, his finances took a massive hit.
This obviously meant expense cuts for him, and Grace Hightower had to feel the brunt too when the limit on her credit card’s monthly allowance was reduced to $50k.
However, she did not take it kindly and took this to court back during the peak of the pandemic. Not only that, but their relationship again made headlines the following year when an appeals court announced that she did not have any claim to half of De Niro’s fortune.
As a result, it seems confirmed that even though there is no saying when their divorce will be finalized, they are never ever getting back together especially as the Irishman star welcomed a seventh child recently.
Also Read: “Bro’s a machine”: Fans Shocked as $500M Rich Acting Legend Robert De Niro, 79, Fathers 7th Child
Robert De Niro is back with comedy and thriller on the menu
Thankfully, with the pandemic, Robert De Niro’s financial worries lessened too. Not only his business started gaining back its lost revenue but went on to profit a lot more.
Not only that but with the shutdowns easing, Hollywood picked up from where it left off, resulting in quite a number of Robert De Niro’s movies being released.
2023, too, is turning out to be good to him with his comedy movie About My Father set to release on the 26th of May. Not only that but his big-budget thriller, Killers of the Flower Moon, which marks his 10th collaboration with Martin Scorsese is also releasing later this year.
Based on David Grann’s book on the Osage murders, De Niro plays the role of Bill Hale, who was a key participant in the events that occurred. It should be mentioned that this was not the first time Robert De Niro ever played such a complex character.
One of his most popular negative performances was his first collaboration with Scorsese in Mean Streets. Other than that, with Goodfellas, Godfather 2, Taxi Driver, Ronin, he made a mark in Hollywood with his remarkable and even terrifying roles over the years.
As a result, his new movie, especially based on such a terribly tragic incident, has his fans all hyped and waiting for its release in October.
About My Father releases on May 26th, while Killers of the Flower Moon hits theaters on October 26th, 2023.
Source: The Things
