Bobby Flay : Celebrity chef reportedly splits from third actress wife Stephanie March

Bobby Flay has filed for divorce from actress wife Stephanie March, three weeks after their split.

While the Law & Order: SVU actress “tried everything she could do” to salvage the 10-year-marriage, the relationship slowly fell apart. So March asked Flay to leave three weeks ago after he returned from a trip to Los Angeles.

“There’s still a lot of love there and no one makes Stephanie laugh more than Bobby, so this was hard for both of them,” a source said. “They’ve been living apart for several weeks.”

But while Flay and March still care about each other, that doesn’t mean their split will be fully amicable. Already, there are reports that the stars are fighting over money.

Insiders say the couple signed a prenup back in 2005, when they got married. At the time, Flay was already a fairly famous chef, while March was a barely-known actress. So naturally, the document favored Flay and protected much of his money. But March apparently wants to change that.

The original prenup reportedly states that Stephanie March will get just $5,000 a month for the next five years. It also gives Flay control over the couple’s lavish home, which is worth around $8 million. All Flay has to do is give March $1 million to buy her out of the property, and another $50,000 to help her move. Not a lot of money for the wife of a celebrity chef!

But March believes she should receive a bigger piece of Bobby Flay’s estimated $20 million net worth. After all, Flay’s earnings have only increased since 2005, in part because of his Food Network series, cookbooks, and product lines. (Back in 2008, he was reportedly worth just $1.5 million). The actress feels she is a big reason for her ex-husband’s success, so she should get more of his money in the divorce.

If Bobby Flay wants to avoid conflict he may give March a bit more in order to finish the financial settlement quickly. Settling quickly would also prevent ongoing legal fees, which could be quite expensive for both Flay and March.

Either way, the prenup makes it clear that the chef has the upper hand in the divorce settlement — especially since they didn’t have any children together. So it looks like Bobby Flay’s net worth may remain intact.

Agencies/Canadajournal