Billionaire David Geffen’s split from boy toy grows uglier with feud over prized $590m possession

Billionaire mogul David Geffen’s refusal to leave his now ex-husband his $590 million superyacht helped lead to their ugly divorce, a new report claims.

Geffen, 82, first connected with Donovan Michaels, 32 – also known as David Armstrong – on SeekingArangements.com in 2016 and went on a date the billionaire said cost him $10,000.

Soon, Geffen asked Michaels to get a passport so he could more easily join him aboard the Rising Sun, a a 454-foot-long super-yacht with a basketball court, wine cellar and a crew of 45, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The yacht, which Geffen bought for an estimated $590 million, eventually became a second home to the couple, who got married in March 2023.

But after just two years of marriage, the couple quietly separated in February and Geffen filed for a divorce in May.

The divorce only grew more bitter in July, when Michaels sued Geffen for a breach of contract – claiming he is entitled to financial security and that the billionaire owes Michaels the luxury superyacht because Geffen promised it to him while they were still married.

Michaels claims in court documents obtained by the Journal that Geffen once told him he wouldn’t want such a ‘money suck.’ 

An unidentified source close to Michaels confirmed to the Journal that a conversation about Michaels owning the yacht did occur, and Michaels became irate when he learned that his ex was not planning on leaving him the boat.

Michaels claims in a lawsuit that Geffen had promised him ownership of Rising Sun, a 454-foot-long super-yacht with a basketball court, wine cellar and a crew of 45, while they were still married

Michaels also accused Geffen in the lawsuit of of using a ‘toxic mix of seduction, control, promises of love, and lavish displays of wealth to entrap’ him in ‘a cycle of dependency, submission, and humiliation’.

He claimed that the billionaire record executive systemically exploited a young, gay black man, who said he was ‘awestruck’ when he first met Geffen – a ‘philanthropist’ who ‘talked the talk’ when the younger man revealed issues from ‘his underprivileged upbringing,’ during the ill-fated couple’s first meeting.

According to the lawsuit, Michaels ‘opened up to Geffen,’ confiding in him ‘about the painful realities of his life – his traumatic upbringing in the Michigan foster care system, his lack of a real family, his instability, and his prior run-ins with the law’.

He noted that he ‘spoke candidly, not to gain sympathy from Geffen, but because he believed he had finally found someone who could understand and maybe even care’.

But Michaels claims his then future husband ‘weaponized [his] vulnerability to fulfill his own personal fantasies’, including the lucrative financial transaction he alleges was made on the first night they met.

The former model turned go-go dancer claimed Geffen ‘used Michaels’ tragic story not as a reason to offer genuine support, but as a grooming tool – casting himself as savior, “white knight,” mentor, and gatekeeper to a better life’.

‘Behind the glittering façade of their relationship was a calculated pattern of abuse and commodification,’ the 33-page complaint alleges.

It goes on to assert that Michaels gave up his modeling career and his independence to be with Geffen, who sought ‘to satisfy his unquenchable thirst for control over Michaels.’

Michaels also asserted that Geffen systemically exploited him as a young, gay black man

Geffen allegedly paid Michaels $10,000 for sex on the night they first met back in 2016, and over time, their paid sexual relationship developed into a romantic partnership, according to the lawsuit. Geffen and Michaels are pictured sitting courtside with actor Michael B Jordan at the Semi-Finals of the 2023 NBA Playoffs

‘With backhanded insults and put-downs about Michaels’ past and lack of sophistication, Geffen cultivated Michaels’ insecurity and self-doubt,’ the lawsuit claims. 

‘He critiqued every aspect of Michaels’ appearance and exercised strict control over his body hygiene,’ the suit claims, arguing Geffen ordered his ex-lover to ‘undergo extensive, painful’ treatments to conform to his idea of ‘perfection.’ 

‘Even something as minor as an ingrown hair could provoke Geffen’s ire and prompt a barrage of instructions to correct the imperfection,’ the complaint alleges.

At the same time, the lawsuit claims Michaels became a ‘private sexual object and a public prop’ that Geffen allegedly used to show off his ‘self-proclaimed altruism to impress his powerful network’.

‘From that moment forward, Geffen began transporting Michaels across the globe as his paid sex worker,’ the complaint alleges.

In the documents – filed by Bryan Freedman, the attorney representing Justin Baldoni in his legal case against Blake Lively – Michaels claimed the mogul used him as a ‘living social experiment – a trophy to show off to his wealthy friends, under the guise of benevolence’.

Geffen (pictured in 1980) made his $9 billion fortune as a music producer

Michaels said he was ‘awestruck’ when he first met Geffen – a ‘philanthropist’ who ‘talked the talk’ when the younger man revealed issues from ‘his underprivileged upbringing’

The complaint also alleges that while Geffen was celebrating aboard his superyacht in Venice in June – surrounded by A-list guests ahead of the Jeff Bezos–Lauren Sanchez wedding – he ordered Michaels to ‘immediately vacate’ their New York home – a move that would leave him without a home. 

The suit claims ‘at the very same time, Geffen was decadently and extravagantly partying and dancing the night away in Venice, Italy with the other .0001% of the wealthiest people on the planet,’ the complaint states. 

Geffen then allegedly cut off Michaels’ financial support, making it ‘impossible’ for him to secure stable housing or cover basic living expenses. 

‘In addition to evicting Michaels, Geffen also cut him off from his status quo financial support, making it impossible for Michaels to secure an appropriate living situation and provide for his daily necessities,’ the complaint states. 

‘While Geffen holds himself out to the public as an extraordinarily charitable man whose foundation gives millions and millions of dollars to advocacy and support groups for the homeless and disadvantaged populations, he is simultaneously endeavoring to render Michaels impoverished and homeless.’ 

Geffen reportedly dated famous singer, Cher, for about two years in the mid-1970s, shortly after Cher separated from Sonny Bono. Pictured: Cher and her then-boyfriend music mogul David Geffen attend an event in 1973

Geffen is pictured with Elton John at the opening of the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood in 1973

Geffen, though, has denied the claims – asserting that Michaels was actually treated like a king.

He claims he instructed his staff members to give Michaels whatever he wanted – which Michaels exploited by spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on clothes, cosmetics and trips with friends.

Attorneys for the former record producer also told the Journal that he was happy to let Michaels have his own independence as they refuted claims that he was sexually abused.

‘The couple never spent a night in the same bed, let alone the same room,’ the lawyers said, explaining that Michaels spent much of his time in a New York apartment that Geffen had originally bought for his housekeeper.

The marriage then imploded after Geffen and his staff members discovered drugs in Michaels’ bedroom, his exorbitant spending on an OnlyFans subscription and male prostitutes, and ‘extensive relationships with numerous other people. 

The attorneys also told the Journal that ‘Geffen never promised to share ownership of any assets’ with Michaels, noting that the billionaire’s financial managers could attest to the fact that he never mentioned giving Michaels the yacht.

‘Simply put, there were no promises,’ Geffen’s attorneys said.

The divorce was even filed without any prenuptial agreements in place, and legal experts have said Geffen was right to assume that much of his $9 billion fortune was protected in divorce under California law – which stipulates that earnings that predate a marriage are not communal property.

Since Geffen’s income is now largely passive, legal experts say, Michaels would not be legally entitled to it.