David Geffen’s Big Checkbook Divorce: Singles Era, 12 Months of Spousal Support and a $5 Million Art Bank Letdown

Sage Matthews here, and yes, the universe of high-society drama just handed us another glittery reminder that love in the gilded age comes with a price tag and a calendar you can mow down with a platinum credit card. In the latest legal theatrics surrounding David Geffen and his estranged husband David Andrew Armstrong, also known as Donovan Michaels, the billionaire mogul lays out a blueprint that sounds almost mechanical: swap the wedding ring for a one-year spousal support cameo, retroactive to the February split, with an eye toward settling the whole thing quickly and quietly, preferably with as little property drama as possible. It’s the kind of cure for a broken marriage that comes with a cash-flow forecast.

Geffen’s new filings reveal a declared willingness to pay up to $50,000 a month to Armstrong for spousal support, but only for 12 months and with retroactive credit for sums already dispensed. That’s not a random number; it’s a deliberate ceiling designed to minimize ongoing obligations while painting a picture of “let’s get this done and move on.” He’s also claiming to have already put roughly $200,000 in Armstrong’s pocket since their February separation and another almost $200,000 for rehab, which Geffen frames as a responsible investment in the estranged husband’s well-being rather than a vindictive payout. The Manhattan Upper East Side rent gets forgiven too, with Armstrong living rent-free in a $15,000-a-month apartment owned by Geffen, while Geffen points to Armstrong’s $5 million collection of art, jewelry, and watches as a separate asset sheesh—property that remains entirely Armstrong’s to steward, or so the filing suggests.

But wait, there’s more in this carefully choreographed dance. Geffen asserts the marriage was “undoubtedly irremediably broken down” and insists he no longer desires to be married, seeking a clean “single” status in the eyes of the law. He also notes his age and retirement—80 and fully out of the hustling business for more than a decade—as context for why the partnership collapsed without the usual shared-property fireworks. He claims there was no community property buildup during the 23-month marriage, effectively framing the $8.7 billion fortune as irrelevant to the spousal support debate. The broader backdrop here is the ongoing tug-of-war with Armstrong, who Geffen alleges tried to extort him via a smear campaign in the media after mediation failed to resolve the dispute. In short, it’s a classic “settle fast, save face” play with a billionaire at the helm and a spouse hoping to secure a larger slice of the pie.

The documents also reveal Laura Wasser in the role of Disso Queen—the divorce attorney at the center of many celebrated splits—signaling that Geffen is pursuing a swift, clean dissolution rather than dragging this through protracted court fights. The question on everyone’s mind, though, is whether a $50,000-per-month cap for a year is a fair middle ground when you’re sitting on an $8.7 billion fortune and a lifetime of high-stakes philanthropy. And does Armstrong walk away with enough cushion if his rehab, art, and living expenses get compressed into this 12-month window?

This saga lands in the public’s lap with the blunt honesty of a press release from a PR team that knows the cameras never truly leave. The divorce filing itself was in May, and the absence of a prenup adds another layer of complexity that could rekindle old debates about how such wealth should be divided when the heart parts ways from the wallet.

What happens next is anyone’s guess: a judge’s ruling, potential appeals, or a mediated settlement that everyone publicly pretends to applaud. The real drama here isn’t just who gets what; it’s how quickly the couple can orchestrate a public narrative that portrays fairness, even as the edge of the diamond stays glinting under the spotlight.

What to watch next: will the court grant the single-status request without a protracted fight, or does Armstrong push for a broader property settlement that contradicts Geffen’s claim of no community property? Either way, the billionaire’s playbook on post-marital life might just redefine how much spectacle your bank balance can buy.

Sources: Celebrity Storm and TMZ
Attribution: Countries that do not celebrate New Year’s Day on 1st January — Jirka.h23 (CC BY-SA 4.0) (OV)