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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Louise Lavigueur

Inside Phil Collins' explosive love life and bitter feuds as he quits music for good

Phil Collins may have released the ultimate love songs adored by generations of fans but sadly his own romances have all ended in divorce.

The 71-year-old singer, who performed for the final time with Genesis on Saturday night, has been locked in a high profile legal battle with his third ex wife Orianne Cevey.

Orianne Cevey, 47, in the 90s when she was working as his translator in Switzerland, and they eventually tied the knot in 1999 - but divorced nine years later in 2008.

They reunited in 2016, and share two sons together, Nicholas and Matthew, but things didn't work out and Orianne since re-married.

Phil Collins has attracted criticism from critics but his success as a solo artist is enviable (AFP/Getty Images)
Phil Collins was noticeably seated during a concert in Germany (Redferns)

So let's take a closer look at Phil's latest feuds amid his bowing out of the music business..

Phil's ex-wife Orianne, has been living at the plush Miami Beach home as she claimed Phil had a "verbal cohabitation agreement" and said she wanted $20m to leave.

But things took a dramatic turn recently as the Hello singer outed her from their former $40m luxury abode after a court mandate stated she had to leave.

And as things turn from bad to worse Orianne is said to have put a number of Phil’s possessions up for auction with Kodner Galleries, Page Six reported at the time - including a gold record of Robert Plant’s album The Principle of Moments.

She also put a lot of ‘assorted Phil Collins awards’ up for auction for a meagre $100.

Eventually, Phil’s valuables were removed from the house entirely and placed in storage until the divorce resettlement case came to a close, with Phil insisting she has no right to the property.

Phil, 1995, at the height of his music career (Getty Images)

Speaking to The Sun at the time, she said: "I felt like I was trapped in a golden cage. When someone’s depressed, it’s hard to help them out. As much as you love them, why would you keep it up? After years, you get fed up."

But Phil’s lawyers at the time damned the claims as "scandalous, scurrilous, unethical and, for the most part, patently false or grossly exaggerated."

The musician, whose hits include 80s anthem In The Air Tonight, share two sons together, Nicholas and Matthew.

Before meeting Orianne, Phil had been married twice before - first to Andrea Bertorelli in 1980 and then to Jill Tavelman in 1996.

Phil Collins attracted criticism for his divorces and suing band members over royalties (Corbis via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, his enviable music career - which has seen him notch up seven Grammy wins, an Oscar, 13 hit singles and more than 150 million albums sold as a solo artist, has continued to attract criticism.

Collins performed with Genesis at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday night for the first time as a group in 14 years.

It might be argued that Collins was a victim of his own success and that it invited a backlash.

His musical presence may have proved to grate on those due to its over saturation in the 80s and 90s where he was relentlessly featured on MTV and countless ads.

Some of his fellow artists saw the singer's output as the 'epitome of soulless pop'. For instance, David Bowie referred negatively to some of his own 1980s work as his "Phil Collins years."

But he seemed resigned to the price of fame, telling FHM, "I'm sorry that it was all so successful. I honestly didn't mean it to happen like that. It's hardly surprising that people grew to hate me."

Phil Collins, pictured performing in 1983 at Madison Square Gardens, has struggled with nerve damage due to years of playing the drums (Getty Images)

He started discussing his retirement in 2009, saying years of drumming resulted in a variety of health issues, including hearing loss, a dislocated vertebrae and nerve damage in his hands.

At the time he stated: "I was going to stop drumming anyway," Collins said. "I had stopped. I don't miss it."

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