Woman goes on YouTube to air divorce grievances

A woman who is divorcing a rich Broadway executive is airing her grievances on YouTube.

A New York woman involved in a divorce battle spilled secrets about her husband, his family and their intimate life in a "scary, new step" in user generated content, attorneys said.

Tricia Walsh-Smith can be watched on YouTube lashing out at her husband, Broadway executive Philip Smith, in a teary and furious clip that has been viewed more than 150,000 times.

Local 6 reported that lawyers can't think of another case like Smith's and are calling it a "scary, new step."

>During the video, Walsh-Smith goes through their wedding album on camera, accuses her husband of trying to evict her out of their apartment, and even makes embarrassing claims about their intimate life.

Link (Via Modeling Promotions Girl)

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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What in the hell?

I’m getting weird, parallel-flashes while watching this, imagining that this is what it sounded like when Paul McCartney’s ex was ranting on about their divorce.

I couldn’t decide if the subtitle labeling Tricia as “poor and vulnerable” was supposed to be sarcastic or incredibly self-absorbed.
Viscount Haldane

That eyeshadow is ghastly!
gabrielm

“airing her grievances”

Festivus seems to come earlier each year…
Cowicide

#15 posted by forgeweld

How does this fit into the “Wonderful Things” subhead?

Well… I’ll put it this way… the “Wonderful DIY pipe organ” post just below this one is hovering around 8 comments total so far, and this one is now pushing over 60+ comments. That pipe organ post may be wonderful, but this youtube divorce is full of wonder.
Bonnie

Anyone else getting the sinking suspicion that this is a viral campaign for a new romantic comedy?
Ceyx Rau

According to her own statement she did sign a prenuptial agreement prior to entering into the marriage. Her claim that she was unaware of the eviction clause, whether true or not, won’t help her as she SIGNED the agreement. Note that according to portions of the agreement she was willing to mention “on air” she walks away with some cash and some real estate.

She wishes to “have her cake and eat it, too” and, sadly, her deftness with the Tarot deck not-withstanding, REALITY doesn’t work that way.
KYJurisDoctor

This is just a “sign of the times” that we live in. SAD!
Michael Canfield

Whatever else, this video is going to make it harder for her to snag a new sugar daddy, I would think.
Destiny

“Instead of getting married again, I’m going to find a woman I don’t like and just give her a house.”

– Rod Stewart
Khonsu

I’m much happier in my quiet little dorm with my “useless” English major than she is being all “successful.” HAH! Take that, naysayers!
astrochimp

I’m confused: was it a “scary, new step” or a “scary new step”?

How about a “scary new, step”?

Or a “scary, new, step”?
Landowner

Ceyx Rau

She says what she signed stated there must be grounds for divorce before she can be kicked out. Maybe the husband could use this video as grounds. Oh and the snark in the subtext was thick.
PeaceLove

How sad. Walsh-Smith claims her husband has no grounds for divorce, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she had a drug or alcohol problem. She certainly doesn’t seem emotionally stable. Is this one of those situations where a severely neurotic or disturbed person has no idea why someone else no longer wants them around?

On the other hand, she’s probably a very tiny fish in a huge pond controlled by her much wealthier and more powerful husband. So maybe she thought airing her grievances in such a public way would help her avoid being totally screwed. I can’t see this helping her case, unless he pays her off just to shut up and go back to England.

BoingBoing follows interesting developments in technology and social media, and they’re right to post this. This could represent the beginning of a whole new genre: dirty laundry videos on YouTube. Are we in for a whole slew of celebrity spouse rants?
Viscount Haldane

It’s tempting to be critical of her — particularly the sense of entitlement — but it’s fairly obvious she’s suffering from bipolar illness and is in a manic episode.
Sister Y

#6, premarital agreements get invalidated all the time (in states that even enforce them at all, like California) for being “unconscionable,” which usually means super-shockingly-unfair, and an eviction clause hidden away (and maybe even under a misleading clause title) would definitely qualify. This is especially true if she didn’t have her own lawyer advise her before signing it. If his lawyers had been smart, they would have told him to pay for her to have her own legal counsel before she signed it.

#7, yeah, it’s a shame that divorcing couples throw temper tantrums like children, now that we have the Internet. They certainly never did that before!
themindfantastic

New Youtube Meme, people airing grievances about marriage that are frivolous and annoying. Spot the real from the well done fakes.
PeaceLove

Ah, follow-up. According to the Daily Mail Walsh-Smith “has admitted having a drink problem…”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=559430&in_page_id=1773
EH

I can’t watch this, it’s too annoying!
Cowicide

I don’t know how I can tell, but somehow I can tell the person shooting the video thinks she’s an arse. Maybe it’s the lengthy pauses in certain areas, I don’t know. Anyone else sense it?
whaledawg

Awesome. I love how she says “my pension”. Like she earned the money.

And you know, at least the chicks who marry horny old men do something that deserves compensation. If they never had sex, what does she even bring to the marriage? Is crazy a valuable commodity now?

And sisterY, it’s not a divorcing couple throwing a tantrum, it’s the woman.
Antinous

Ms. Walsh-Smith is apparently 50 +/- a year or two.
forgeweld

How does this fit into the “Wonderful Things” subhead?
ernie

From CNN

“In a tearful and furious YouTube video with close to 150,000 hits to date, former actress and playwright (“Bonkers”) Tricia Walsh-Smith lashes out against her husband, Philip Smith, president of the Shubert Organization, the largest theater owner on Broadway.”

BONKERS?? It’s the eyes…
UnderRat

Good Gods, I only watched the first 30 seconds before I went into convulsions and had this horrible flashback…why am I not married???…Where did all my money go..? OH RIGHT!!! Now I remember vividly!! THANKS!
dark victoria

high maintenance? i saw a photo of the two of them together and she just looks like a psychopath. very real wives of the o.c. or whatever that show is. although i really hate women that are like this i think it’s sad that someone can get so royally screwed by socio-sexual politics that they become such a pathetic beast. i imagine it must suck for her to have probably been able to get whatever she wanted when she was young and beautiful only to find as she ages that she really has nothing to offer. this is like a cautionary tale for young girls to make sure they can take care of themselves and not depend on something as fleeting as good looks. (p.s i’m a dude).
Ceyx Rau

@ Landowner

And let’s not forget: She mentions almost immediately that she didn’t read the document (which she then proceeded to sign). Her present awareness of its contents seems to be limited to the eviction clause. [This means she's the kind of person who randomly grazes on reality and only on those things that immediately affect her. At no point did she look beyond causing her husband whatever embarassment she could and what this might do to the future outcome of the divorce.]

Note that she does not state what grounds her husband claimed to file for the divorce (and the grounds for a divorce can be very minimal [and the grounds within the prenup might be even more minimal]).

The most likely scenario (as displayed in her video) is that she’s attempting to shake the money tree one last time.

Her video, in and of itself, would be enough to get a restraining order which, in turn, would get her out of their home almost immediately. This also gets the ball rolling for her to start burning through her own resources and increases the likelyhood that she’d have to accept the terms of the prenup (which she signed) and walk away with some cash and some real estate.
Takuan

I couldn’t stand to watch more than 30 seconds, can someone please summarize the dirty bits for me?
jazminecat

#14 “If they never had sex, what does she even bring to the marriage? ”

Wow. Just WOw. that is really quite a sad view of marriage you have there.
phlavor

I wanted a divorce 30 seconds in.
Automatt

Shame on all of you.
Takuan

if it’s not too much trouble, just the dirty bits??
elNico

whatever the verdict, I like paragraphs…
Nick D

For what it’s worth, I personally prefer to withhold judgment about a marriage and two people I know nothing about.

I’m not hesitant, however, to form an opinion of people who watch other people’s suffering for entertainment. 150,000 views? Sheesh. We are a nation of voyeurs, snoops, and busybodies.
woolie

only marry for love, and never sign a prenup… sigh.

oh, and stay away from show business. this is what it does to you. tell your kids to be engineers or accountants. life in the arts is a miserable existence.
cniebla

I just wonder… if instead of a “crying bipolar suffering” female this video was starred by a male… The society usually thinks of this as a matter that always has happened, but only is using the “new media” available to vent the same things, but doesn’t stop for a minute to think about gender stereotypes, “female rage forgiveness” and such… this video is not sad, is just an histeric female agitating the arms and breaking into tears trying to hurt someone that obviously is more powerful (and smarter! don’t forget she didn’t care to read the prenup jajaja) than she is… she seems smart, intelligent, she is a playwriter, she can survive (and very well), so Â¿why act like a little girl, a drama queen? if I was the husband, I’ll slap her with a defamation suit, adding to the divorce ;)
Fee

Before my husband turned to crime… he’s a lawyer, poor, as he does legal aid… he did a stint in divorce law. He said that there was nothing so trivial it couldn’t be argued over by divorcing couples. Often it comes down to spending good money arguing over the ali baba linen basket. There nearly always is one and only one, and couples will waste the equivalent of ten or twenty in arguing over the only one.

I can only think of two things that this woman might get out of posting the video: publicity and hurting her soon-to-be-ex husband.

Either she hopes that in these sad times, notoriety gained on youtube will gain her some value in chat shows or maybe pantomime, or she hopes to hurt her husband significantly.

If she’s hoping for anything else… I think the video probably does more harm than good. The husband only has to show it to ensure that everyone understands his grounds for divorce.
Jake0748

If her purpose was to gather sympathy for herself, then she failed. After watching the video (or as much as I could bear), I now care even less than zero about her, her husband or her problems.
Takuan

so, a wise guy eh! Why I oughtta murderlize ya!
Woo woo woo woo!
Inmyopinion01

This looks like another bitter female treating marriage like an investment opportunity. I am sick of hearing about women trying to get financially set through divorce. Not to mention what a lowlife she is for airing here grievances online. Hey here an idea get a job and create your own money thats how most of us do it. Why is it always assumed the male should leave and the women walk away with the home. Its the millenium…equal rights lets level the playing field in the courts. OH yeah quit your whining ya blonde Bimbo you are making other blondes look like thje sterotype.
Takuan

is that in addition to my usual shame, or is it extra shame?
Antinous

Shame rejected due to lack of explanation.

Next!
UnderRat

#22 “If they never had sex, what does she even bring to the marriage? ”

“Wow. Just WOw. that is really quite a sad view of marriage you have there.”

Well, after ruling out a winning personality, likability, compatibility and money…what else is there?
trr

#15: Well, it certainly makes you wonder.
punctiliouspig

Kudos to her if it’s therapeutic. You don’t want the public to think you’re an asshat then don’t be an asshat. That simple. If you’re not and someone says you are then you’ll still have friends and support..if not..go public with your side. Eventually the back and forth will grow boring to Joe Public but karma may just exist.
Sean Blueart

Sad
Pain
Sad
Pain
Jeff

Ugh. When did Jerry Springer start blogging on BoingBoing?
Lexica

I imagine her lawyer is having a bad morning. “You did WHAT??? It’s gotten HOW MANY views??? Oh my god… Didn’t I tell you NOT TO TALK ABOUT IT with anybody but me???”

But “scary new step”? Newsflash: divorcing people can and sometimes do make each other’s lives hell by releasing embarrassing personal information. I’d bet people have been doing so since gossip was invented… or at least since divorce was.
cstatman

Mark,

Go out today and get some flowers for your wife. Otherwise, the video will be horrific!

:P

crap, I am gonna get some flowers for MY wife.

this is insanity. But fortunately, according to the cards, “VICTORY!”
Pipenta

Anyone else feel kind of broken up that this marriage is falling by the wayside?

I get a feeling that these two really belonged together.
ERGERBURGERLIS

IF THEY DIDNT HAVE SEX, then how the hell did they even get married or even a relationship before that? thats impossible also if they truly didn’t have sex then the only reason she would have married him is … MONEY! so shes obviously a psycho gold digger
fnc

I learned something today. Having a wife the same age as your daughter is probably a bad idea.

Not that I’d ever be able to afford a wife that young anyway. Just kidding ladies!
Takuan

no really, just the tawdry parts, if it’s not putting you out, …
Takuan

this is why it is better to eat one’s mate after the spawn is fertilized.
Antinous

I expect that Jennifer Saunders will sue for infringement of copyright.
Nick D

OK, OK!

At 1:32 she grabs her crotch and screams, “I had a vagina tuck for you!”

At 2:15 she shows the Lord of the Rings themed dildos her husband forced her to use (you should like that!).

At 3:56 she lifts her shirt and shouts “Here’s the boobies!”

(No, wait, that last was Girls Gone Wild: Finally 18!” Sorry.)
obdan

quit watching you tube, and get back to work.
Takuan

I believe I have the answer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_w4MV_LwMw
Antiglobalism

Egodrama all the way — she feels good for appearing online and we fell good for feeling sorry for her. Can modern society be more neurotic?
JackCastile

Well, if there’s anything good about this, it’s that it shows the foolishness and downright horror that is the chronically indignant adult child-woman. Years of female infantilism in the United States has caused the creation of these little monsters. Unfortunately, civil\family courts almost always enable these types by doling out large divorce and\or child support settlements to them. It’s a shame that we haven’t come quite far enough to stop this sort of thing. I don’t think it’s because the majority of people don’t know that it’s wrong. I think it’s because there are too many lawyers making too much money off of women like this-too many big, rich law firms to lobby the legislators to keep current and create new unfair family court and marital laws in place. Hopefully, the continued revealing of these types in the media will further clue people in to how horrible they are and how family courts need to change.

Kudos, to this unappreciateive nut job of a washed up trophy wife for showing us how horrid you are and for showing us what millions of other men go through every day in silent suffering. Thank you, Ms. Walsh-Smith for your candor.

P.S. To the sympathetic posters (if there are any): Don’t let Ms. Walsh-Smith hide behind her Prozac. This isn’t manic depression, it’s simply a spoiled brat.
fishstique

This smells fishy to me. I have a feeling there will be a big ‘ha ha fooled ya’ reveal next week, a la the Sunsilk ‘crazy bride cuts her hair off’ Youtube video.

Something about this just doesn’t seem legit. The weird fades, the scripted dialogue… the fake sobbing at the begining…
NikFromNYC

MILF alert. God I love difficult, zany women. The reason people become “infantile” in marriages (failure rate now about 70%) is that they revert to an infantile state in which their needs are expected to be automatically met, without having to state them. Now, the idea that this fairly hot woman hasn’t had sex in a decade is laughable. As her sugar daddy worked all day, might she have had dozens of affairs? Her husband obviously can afford as many college age prostitutes as he’d want in a week, so needn’t have had affairs. That this girl was pretty hot in her 30s or 40s is unquestionable. That she has a personality type that means she would not have even have considered dating *me* since I am not a multi-millionaire, gives me, and likely many struggling creative types little sympathy. I’ll bet hawking her engagement ring alone would buy her a ticket to London and a new apartment there too. It sounds like she’s still in love with him though, my definition here of love being her access to High Society in NYC, whereas moving to London would leave her merely competing with younger beavers who also star in plays nobody has heard of.
Jake0748

@40 – Does anybody here feel sorry for her?, I sure don’t, and I don’t see anyone else here feeling that way either.
phoenix21

Takuan-

She not only humilates herself in the video, and her husband, talking about his viagra, porn, and condom stash that she found, but she proceeds to call his assistant and questions her about it. The poor assistant, getting caught in the middle of that fight… how awkward it must’ve been at work for her after that! “Um, Mr. Smith? Your wife wants to know about your, um, porn?”
TharkLord

When one is a struggling artist, one may feel tempted to pursue a union with someone who’s connections may further one’s career and add financial resources that one would otherwise not have access too.

Likewise, when one is very successful in their career of choice and one has achieved a significant level of financial success, one may feel tempted to pursue a union with someone whose relative youth and physical attractiveness satisfies one’s ego and whose association with implies a level of machismo that one may ostensibly be lacking due to one’s advanced age.

All parties to such poorly considered relationships should resist such temptations as they usually end poorly.
Takuan

ahhhhh.much better,thank you.
Takuan

I had sex once
fishstique

OK, here’s my theory – it’s a promotion for a new play she’s in. And the hubby is in on it. Hmm?
BubbaFett

I watched about 20 seconds of it and saw how slowly the bar was moving and realized there must be a lot more of her jabbering like an imbecile, so I watched some Nick Cave videos instead. By the way, that woman has a case of the Crazy Eye!
Nick D

You’re welcome, Takuan.
Takuan

Methinks the Sultan might take exception with the assertion this is a new thing under the sun.
Antinous

Getting your mantle caught in a beak can happen to anyone. You shouldn’t have let it put you off it forever.
Nick D

And to think I was afraid that you guys were going to presume to pass judgment on a couple you have never met and know nothing about!

“I saw a photo of the two of them together and she just looks like a psychopath.”

“She wishes to “have her cake and eat it, too”

“Just an histeric female agitating the arms and breaking into tears trying to hurt someone that obviously is more powerful (and smarter!)”

“thats impossible also if they truly didn’t have sex then the only reason she would have married him is … MONEY”

What goes on between two people in a relationship is private. The fact that one or both of them airs their dirty laundry in public does not give you license to wave that dirty laundry around, or to pass judgment.

I hate to be a spoilsport, and I know it’s harmless speculation, but it jest ain’t right.
Antinous

Nik,

Any woman who wouldn’t date you (at least once) would be so dull you wouldn’t want her anyway.
hedztalez

After seeing the numbers yesterday and its jump to over 2 million views this morning, its starting to seem like a publicity play. She knows the divorce is coming, her career had somewhat slowed under the umbrella of the marriage. Now that’s shes getting dropped, she needed something to start that career back up again. Stir a cup of YouTube with a bottle of her favorite spirit, top it off with a whoooole lotta crazy and blammo, more views than alot of the clips on the site.
hedztalez

…and boo to that sneaky “‘s” that snuck in there.
Mark Frauenfelder

“How does this fit into the ‘Wonderful Things’ subhead?”

It excites wonder, or astonishment.
msspurlock

Bad plastic surgery and botox.
It travels to the brain.
MMG

She’s an embarrassment to women!! No wonder he didn’t want to have sex with her – she’s evil.

After that repulsive phone call, I had to shut it off. So if she totally redeemed herself after that, sorry, lady, for what I said about you.

But you’d have to swim through arctic waters to save baby seals from clubbing and kick OJ Simpson in the balls for you to look half-decent in my eyes.
buddy66

‘The Prettiest Girl In Alaska’ is a great book title.
coldspell

Why would a rich man marry a gold digger 25 years his junior if he doesn’t actually want to have sex with her?

I think Fishstique’s theory about promoting a play (like the stupid “I Hate You Sarah Marshall” movie) makes the most sense.
Antinous

I kind of liked Returned to the Tundra.
Jamie Sue

***Snore***

Trite.
Pope Ratzo

Super!
anthropomorphictoast

I already hear this kinda crap from my (now divorced) parents, I don’t want to hear it on my computer from someone else as well. SO YOU HATE EACH OTHER, GREAT! JUST GET THE DIVORCE AND SHUT UP! >_<
moonracer23

I’m with the few that thinks this is a little fishy. My first thought while watching it was that it reminded me of ‘you suck at photoshop’ only not worth watching.
wylkyn

Wow, I can’t imagine why he wants to divorce her.

Is it just me, or does she have crazy eyes?
AliasUndercover

This will make it hard to find a non-biased jury. Great strategy, well done.
NidSquid

I can’t bear to watch it. Yukky yukky yukky.

Didn’t these people’s parents ever teach them NOT to air their dirty laundry in public? How classless, graceless and inelegant to make such a video.

And I concur with the other comments: how is this wonderful again? Boing Boing, please don’t go trashy on us. Pleeeeeeeeeeze.
palindrome

Wylkyn, it’s The Crazy Eye ™. And, oh yeah, she’s got it alright.

Look, she’s rambling, and shrill, but how can you not help feeling a little sad for this human? I mean whether or not it’s her fault, she’s really embarrassing herself. I fell kind of bad for her, anyway.
Alfie

Maybe i have a different view of this since I work in the entertainment industry, but this is just tragic. By the looks of her, and by her mentions of going to London to revive her career, I would venture to guess this woman was aspiring to a career as either a model, or an actress (Probably both). It breaks my heart to see this, knowing my fair share of doe eyed talented young women who are already exhibiting the sort of desperation that led this particular woman to such a self destructive and sad act. I fear that this may be the tip of the iceberg as i see a constant and ever increasing flow of emotionally crippled youngsters coming to Los Angeles and flooding the acting market with a sense of entitlement and a feeling of overpowering singularity.

I recall a young lady who i met about five years ago when i first moved to LA who told a shocked group “I was the prettiest girl in Alaska.”. She was nothing to scoff at, to be sure. However, winning pageants in Alaska and being told you were special all your life did not translate into a career quickly enough for the prettiest girl in Alaska, and she returned to the tundra only a year into her experiment in entertainment.

The story of Blanche Dubois is not a new one, but i fear it will become more frequent as thousands of Ms. Alaskas rain on the coasts with complete certainty of their future.
Landowner

Lol, that was pretty funny. If her husband is using dirty pool to kick her out of her house I don’t see what’s wrong with it. Not very high class but then again neither is she.
I can see why he might have gotten tired of her tho. I’m very disappointed she didn’t included a shot of the porn. Now that would have been funny.
epsas

She is obviously under-funded to litigate a rich husband… This is also, obviously, a very very stressful conflict.

I think it makes sense that she would use this tactic.

Welcome to the 21st century!
Caledonian Jim

Not sure whether she’s airing grievances or auditioning for some trashy soap .