How Harvey Weinstein's Ex, Georgina Chapman, Has Moved on After Leaving the Disgraced Producer
As disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein sat in a New York City courtroom learning of his guilty verdict on rape and sexual assault charges on Monday, his ex-wife Georgina Chapman was nowhere to be seen.
Weinstein, 67, was found guilty of a criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree and acquitted on three other charges, according to The New York Times.
Chapman, 43, who married the disgraced producer in 2007 and announced their split in 2017, has kept a low-profile since he was accused of victimizing more than 80 women. The two reached a divorce settlement in January 2018.
The fashion designer and Marchesa co-founder has two young children with Weinstein.
Chapman announced she was leaving Weinstein in October 2017 saying in a statement obtained by PEOPLE at the time, “My heart breaks for all the women who have suffered tremendous pain because of these unforgivable actions.”
Weinstein will pay Chapman a divorce agreement worth roughly $15 to 20 million, a source told PEOPLE in 2018. Chapman will also get primary custody of their two children.
RELATED: Harvey Weinstein Found Guilty on Rape and Sex Assault Charges
“I have chosen to leave my husband,” she said. “Caring for my young children is my first priority and I ask the media for privacy at this time.”
A source told PEOPLE at the time the fashion designer was “very, very upset.”
“Georgina is very loved. Many people very much care about her. She won’t be going through this alone,” the source said. “It was her decision to separate. For every day, it was an easier decision for her to make. She was very honest when she released the statement about how her heart breaks for all the women who have suffered. She can’t imagine their pain. She feels sick and very sad that her husband is the cause. She is focusing on Her kids and business.”
Chapman’s business is the Marchesa fashion brand that she co-founded in 2004 with Keren Craig. The label immediately became known for princess-like red carpet-worthy designs featuring bold embellishments, romantic fabrics and dramatic floral accents.
RELATED VIDEO: Georgina Chapman to Receive $15-20 Million in Harvey Weinstein Divorce: Source
Since its inception, Marchesa designs have been regulars on the red carpet, worn by A-listers like Kate Hudson, Jennifer Lopez, Sandra Bullock and Blake Lively. But after the downfall of Weinstein, Chapman’s label suffered, and even canceled its New York Fashion Week runway show in Feb. 2018 in the wake of the controversy.
Chapman has received the continued support of A-list actresses such as Scarlett Johansson and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who have both worn Marchesa designs on the red carpet in the wake of the scandal.
The designer spoke out for the first time about the allegations against her ex in a May 2018 Vogue interview.
“There was a part of me that was terribly naive — clearly, so naive. I have moments of rage, I have moments of confusion, I have moments of disbelief,” she said. “And I have moments when I just cry for my children. What are their lives going to be? What are people going to say to them? It’s like, they love their dad. They love him. I just can’t bear it for them.”
Chapman told the magazine she “never” knew of Weinstein’s alleged behavior, making the revelations more shocking.
“That’s what makes this so incredibly painful: I had what I thought was a very happy marriage. I loved my life,” she said. “I was so humiliated and so broken… that… I, I, I… didn’t think it was respectful to go out.”
She continued, “I thought, ‘Who am I to be parading around with all of this going on?’ It’s still so very, very raw. I was walking up the stairs the other day and I stopped; it was like all the air had been punched out of my lungs.”
RELATED: Georgina Chapman ‘Will Never Take’ Harvey Weinstein Back But Is Still in Contact, Says Source
The Vogue article also revealed Chapman had become “super tight” to Huma Abedin — the Hillary Clinton aide and ex of disgraced politician Anthony Weiner, who was convicted of sexting a minor and served an 18-month jail sentence.
“We just… bonded,” Abedin told the magazine. “In allll kinds of ways. This particular club, ironically, it’s not such a small one: women who have had to endure it in such a public way, women like Georgina and me.”
Abedin added, “People don’t feel sorry for us; you don’t that empathy. People think you’re beautiful, you’re thin, you’re rich, you’re photographed on the red carpet, and you get stuck in this category. There’s so much more depth beyond all that with Georgina.”
RELATED VIDEO: Harvey Weinstein Settles Sexual Assault Civil Suits in Tentative $44M Deal: Reports
Chapman received help from her longtime friend, actor David Oyelowo, who she has known for over 25 years. Oyelowo had invited her to stay in his Los Angeles home alongside her two children after she separated from Weinstein.
“I kind of found myself in a first-responder capacity,” he told Vogue. “My wife and I were right there with her two kids, and this catastrophe was unfolding in real-time across the globe, literally your worst nightmare in terms of a marriage, in terms of the future of your kids and your business. And none of this was your own doing and yet you are entirely lumped into it.”
He continued, “Thing that was the most difficult to witness was that she quite rightly took the stance of not going out there and defending herself because there was just too much white noise and too much bile headed in her general direction. She felt, How dare I raise my head and say, ‘Oh, by the way, I’m suffering too?’”
In May 2019, Chapman returned to the spotlight at the Met Gala, walking the red carpet with Crazy Rich Asians star Constance Wu, who was styled in a Marchesa gown.
