‘Da Vinci Code’ author reaches settlement with ex

The author of the best-seller ‘The Da Vinci Code’, Dan Brown has reached an undisclosed settlement with his former wife, after a year-long legal battle in which he was accused of misappropriating marital assets and having affairs.

Blythe Brown began proceedings against her former husband in 2020. Their divorce had been finalized in 2019, bringing to an end 21 years of marriage. In the lawsuit, she claimed Brown had led a secret life, pursued extramarital affairs with at least four women, including her own horse trainer, and plundered their joint funds.

She also claimed to have come up with the idea for the best-selling ‘Da Vinci Code’ thriller, which catapulted Brown’s career into the stratosphere, having subsequently been adapted into a blockbuster movie that grossed over $750 million at the box office. Furthermore, she alleged, the author hid projects from her, including concepts for children’s books that were supposedly worth millions.

Dan Brown – who at the time of their breakup was worth an estimated $160 million – said he had already given his former partner ‘half of everything’ during their divorce settlement, however, and had been surprised that she ‘came back for more.’

“She received half of everything [in the divorce, which was finalized in December], more than half of everything, actually, and I’m shocked that she’s coming back for more. And I completely dispute her account of what happened. It’s all been pretty sobering,” said Brown in a 2020 interview.

In response, he also filed a lawsuit accusing Blythe Brown of libel and slander, worried her very public allegations could sink his career. He disputed her claims, dismissing them as works of fiction. 

“She was throwing everything at the wall, hoping something would stick. We both know why she was upset, and she had a right to be, but we were lonely and we looked for fulfillment in other places,” said Brown in the same interview.

US writer Dan Brown. © AFP / ANP / JERRY LAMPEN

However, it seems not all of her claims were baseless, as Brown did admit to having an affair with Judith Pietersen, a 30-year-old equine trainer who had been taking care of his then-wife’s show ponies. Brown had allegedly even bought Pietersen a $350,000 horse as a present. However, the author claimed their relationship started only when his marriage was essentially over, and that his ex-wife had demanded the horse for herself “in order to inflict pain on the woman whom her ex-husband loved.”

Brown claimed his marriage was “over long ago”, having become increasingly dysfunctional after the extraordinary initial success of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ in 2004. He further claimed that she had “engaged in conduct that caused the marriage to be one in name only,” and detailed several instances when she had repeatedly insulted and mocked him. In addition, he alleged, when his mother was dying of cancer, Blythe Brown had abandoned him and gone to the Caribbean on holiday with some friends.

Now the author and his ex-wife have reached an undisclosed settlement, they have offered no further comment on the matter. Their attorneys have asked that their desire for privacy and closure be respected.