The moviestarring Julianne Moore, Stephen Dillane, Eddie Redmayne, Hugh Dancy, Elena Anaya, and Unax Ugaldewas based on the book of the same name. She became one of the top models of her time. [3] Her social status and beauty resulted in frequent invitations to high society parties, allowing her to date various wealthy admirers. Barbara Daly Baekeland (1922 November 17, 1972) was a wealthy socialite who was murdered by her son, Anthony Baekeland. Tonys defense lawyer at the Old Bailey was the legendary John Mortimer author of Rumpole and the Bailey books. It was like he had no sense of reality. But even worse, she deliberately instigated a sexual relationship with her son as a way to control her gay child. In November of last year, the same month that allegations of his grifting emerged, Baekeland was removed from the companys list of shareholders. When Barbara was barely an adult, she gained much attention from rich, powerful men. Later, the tumultuous . Tonys erratic and strange behavior increased, and his aging grandmother was not equipped to handle it. However, the marriage was far from perfect and produced a child that was even more erratic and unhinged than his parents. [16], Antony then undertook sessions with a psychiatrist while living at home. She loved him and had no clue what she was really getting herself into; she never imagined that Tonys mental instability would cause him to go after her. Mitsidis was shocked to hear the accusation that someone was using an alias on his website, especially because Baekeland was still interning remotely for TBT at the time. Only six days after his release, on July 27, he attacked her with a kitchen knife, stabbing her eight times and breaking several bones. 1. Travelers dont often study the granular detail involved with commissioning a private jet to an isolated desert island. Sadly, his grandmother Ninis misguided trust combined with a lack of responsibility by authorities on both sides of the Atlantic brought the damaged, disturbed, and schizophrenic Tony to New Yorks Upper East Side to live with an elderly woman. In an email to Bonifas, Baekeland claimed his family were regular donors to the charity, who had giving arrangements with the owners of the island, for ongoing conservation work., Bonifas was quick to indulge the offer, replying back: I have no problem with the $10,000 donation or the cost of the tripGet me confirmed., Though the trip went through, the $10,000 donation never made it to the Conservancy, a source from the organization tells Rolling Stone. When the news broke, Radcliffe wrote an email to Baekelands various accusers, acknowledging their outrage. Radcliffe says that the 2014 name change occurred after Jesse Gordon experienced a particularly bitter and unusual family estrangement. He claims his friend chose the Baekeland name because he is, in fact, a distant, collateral relation of a Baekeland. Karraker, for his part, says he has never heard of a William Baekaland or a Jesse Gordon. The reason for these extreme conflicts was because Barbara encouraged and pushed Tony to sleep with prostitutes in an attempt to cure his homosexuality. After Leo Baekelands invention helped spur the growth of countless consumer products, the family lived as nomadic gentry in New York, London, Spain and France. He also boasted about his itinerant lifestyle in the TBT newsletter in 2016, saying that he had recently traveled on the Kapitan Khlebnikov icebreaker doing the Northeastern passage from Anadyr to Svalbard. (Quark Expeditions, the company that runs journeys on the Kapitan Khlebnikov, didnt reply to multiple email requests for comment.) Sadly, his concerns were warranted. He seemed to be going everywhere all the time. But despite openly calling him a fraud on Twitter, there was little Kendall could do. They later resolved to continue traveling together. In a sense, using the Baekeland name was genius. He was this amazing creative writer, says Gazarian, recalling an email Baekeland once sent him about extreme violence in South Sudan. [12], Barbara Baekeland had a complex and allegedly incestuous relationship with her son, Antony Baekeland, who was either gay or bisexual. Psychological demons consumed Barbara and her mother as well. After spending seven years at Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric ward in England, Tony went back to New York to live with his grandmother. Barbara would eventually hire a bunch of expensive therapists to try and find a glimpse of happiness, but nothing worked. Hours after she got home, it was her own son who killed her in the kitchen. [7], Two weeks later, on November 17, 1972, Antony murdered his mother by stabbing her with a kitchen knife, killing her almost instantly. When the cops responded to the scene, they reportedly found Tony placing an order for Chinese food. yearly orientation no Anthony, 1922 - Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States, Nov 17 1972 - Chelsea, London, England, United Kingdom, "and ordered held in for a hearing next Monday Anthony, Sep 28 1922 - Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States, Francis James "Frank" Daly, Mrs. Nini Lillian Daly (born Fraser), Sep 28 1921 - Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, Estados Unidos de Amrica, Nov 11 1972 - London, Inglaterra, Reino Unido, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_Grace. The violent attack ended a turbulent, toxic, and combative mother-son connection. When the police arrived, they found Anthony, who was 25 years old at the time, ordering Chinese food over the phone. At these parties, Barbara became well-known to many for her unstable personality, rude outbursts and bouts of severe depression. Police arrived and found Antony at the scene of the crime. After discovering the affair in February 1968, Barbara again tried to commit suicide. Absolutely we had the impression[William] was never going to work again in his life, says Ortelius passenger Bob Bonifas. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Just days after landing in New York and moving into his grandmothers apartment, Tonys bizarre behavior turned chilling. Its the overwhelming simplicity of the alleged con that goads him. She was the ex-wife of Brooks Baekeland, who was the grandson of Leo Baekeland, inventor of Bakelite plastic. Only now his reputation is far different. He was then arrested by the New York City Police Department, charged with attempted murder[7] and sent to Rikers Island prison. [7], Antony was institutionalized at Broadmoor Hospital until July 21, 1980, when, at the urging of a group of his friends, he was released.[18]. He was prone to violent outbursts and aggression. The camel market of el Fasher, Darfur, Sudan, A post shared by William Baekeland (@williambaekeland) on Feb 10, 2017 at 4:30pm PST. He also said hed chartered a Britten-Norman Islander airplane to Sable Island in Nova Scotia, Canada, where he saw groups of horses running through the water at the shoreline.. Her possessiveness and controlling behavior ultimately ruined the lives of one of the most privileged, wealthy American families. Antony and Cooper also allegedly began an affair at this time, though this is denied by Cooper. His elderly grandmother and a family psychiatrist. On September 28, 1921, Barbara Baekeland was welcomed into the world as Barbara Daly to an ordinary American family. He built a macabre shine to his dead mother and uttered satanic phrases over her ashes. I dropped [Baekeland] as an intern and stated even on the TBT newsletter we were no longer working or associated with him.. He contacted me, Kendall says. Her beautiful face certainly helped her climb the social ladder, but a pretty face isnt everything. On the day of his court appearance, Tony Baekeland, son of the glamorous socialite Barbara Day Baekeland, was found in his prison cell with a plastic bag over his head. I dont know where he got my email at all.. Within minutes, the impulsive Tony lost control and stabbed her a total of eight times! The size of the traversable world varies according to different travel societies. By that November, the explorers were trusting Baekeland with facilitating travel arrangements for their own expeditions, wiring him thousands of dollars to navigate the bureaucratic maze of paperwork to obtain visas, charter private planes and haggle with foreign governments. He got out on the condition that he would live in New York under the care of his 87-year-old grandmother, Nini. A well read friend of mine who has known me for many years, and consequently knows my taste in books, loaned me a copy of Savage Grace, a nonfiction book which tells the story of the Baekelands; Brooks Baekeland, heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune, his wife Barbara Daly Baekeland and their son Antony Baekeland. However, Sylvie then started an affair with Barbara's husband Brooks. His voice was as delicate and refined as a cartoon butlers. Everything went well until the year she turned 11, that is. Moreover, Brooks does not lag too behind in the self-centered . On November 17, 1972, Barbara Daly Baekeland was stabbed to death in her luxurious London apartment; she was only 52 years old. But when it came time to deliver on his promises, he disappeared. Since she was a little girl, she knew she wanted the good life with big cities, vacations, parties, and a whole lot of cash, and she knew she had the looks to make it happen. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Barbara Daly Baekeland (1922 - November 17, 1972) was a wealthy socialite who was murdered by her son, Anthony Baekeland. It stars Stephen Dillane as Brooks Baekeland, the socially recessive heir to a family fortune (his grandfather, a plastics pioneer, invented Bakelite), Julianne Moore as Barbara Daly. Later that year, at the apex of all of Baekelands suffering, Mitsidis again heard from Mike Kendall on Facebook. The 33-year-old came to terms with the fact he would be in the slammer for life; unfortunately for Tony, that wouldnt be as long as he thought. According to Mitsidis, public records showed Jesse Gordons birthdate matched the one on Baekelands passport, which he had seen while organizing trips. While the UN slices the globe into 193 member nations that form its legislative body, independent travel organizations make their own rules. My heart broke for the guy, says Gazarian. [citation needed], In 1967, at which time the family was based in both Switzerland and the Spanish resort of Cadaques, the 20-year-old Antony met Jake Cooper, a bisexual Australian man. George had 2 siblings: Jenny Baekeland and one other sibling. And He Had to Figure Out What it Was, 40 Facts About Elon Musk You Probably Dont Know, The McConspiracy: How One Man Cheated the McDonalds Monopoly Contest to Make 24 Million Dollars. It was this flamboyant glamour that had ensnared her husband, Brooks Baekeland, wealthy grandson of the man who invented Bakelite, the world's first plastic. An inveterate travel expert at 22 years old, with a scrawny build and neatly combed hair, he looked more like a high-school student than an explorer. Green wrote:[11][12], It is true that almost 40 years ago I did have an affair with Barbara, but I certainly never slept with her son, nor am I bisexual. [9] This led Barbara to severe depression and another suicide attempt, from which her friend Gloria Jones, wife of author James Jones, saved her.[10]. Tony had no desire to see his father after he left him to live with a new partner (3rd marriage) and a young child. Despite confessing to the ruthless murder of his mother, Tony didnt seem to grasp the seriousness of his crime. His exploits certainly were believable, even in hindsight, given how they were documented on social media. Referring in particular to the menage-a-trois scene of Barbara, Antony, and Sam in bed together having sex, he wrote: It is true that almost 40 years ago I did have an affair with Barbara, but I certainly never slept with her sonNor am I bisexual. Tony admitted that on the night of Barbaras murder, the two had argued about a friend that Tony invited over, but his mom didnt want to see. Want to guess what he drew? She also suffered mental health problems like her mother, and was a private patient of psychiatrist Foster Kennedy. But when trips he planned began falling apart, others started to wonder was it all a con? Brooks started sleeping with his sons girlfriend. Everything you think you know about William Baekeland is bullshit, he wrote. When he asked for a divorce, Barbara. [citation needed], Returning to Spain, Barbara accepted the extent of her son's relationship with Cooper, but preferred his developing relationship with a young Spanish girl, Sylvie. Barbara managed to track down Tony when she got to Morocco and stuffed him into the car to take him home. As well see, she became more and more unhinged, with dreadful consequences. She was murdered at her London home when her son Antony stabbed her with a kitchen knife, killing her almost instantly. Baekelands single cabin made us believe his story, he said during an interview on the podcast Counting Countries. Barbara Baekeland was brought into the world with exceptionally good looks. Just before Barbaras brutal death, she was out with a friend in London bragging about her extravagant, wonderful, fun-filled life that she had with her son Anthony whom she absolutely adored. Flying directly to New York City, Anthony stayed with his 87 year old maternal grandmother, Nina Daly. Baekeland ostensibly used their sordid past and present-day obscurity to create his subterfuge. The young explorer was in some respects too peculiar not to be authentic. After the cheating and divorce, Barbara and Tony were heartlessly rejected from Brookss new life and new family in America. The ceremony for his sister Muguette supposedly took place at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Westchester County, New York, Mitsidis said, next to the grave of the family patriarch, Leo Hendrik Baekeland. They dont have so much spare time but they have plenty of cash. She also drank heavily, and both parties had many affairs. After Brooks requested a divorce and Barbara subsequently tried to commit suicide, Brooks terminated the affair. Basically, he thought Tony was a weirdo and that Barbara was crazy, and he preferred to spend his time with his new, emotionally stable family and abandon his old one. His financial travails werent part of a planned grifting, but rather borne of a fledgling business hitting hard times, he says. However, Sylvie started an affair with Brooks. Nobody will be able to compete with him once hes done. Tsu Surf Pleads Guilty to RICO, Firearms Charges, Gordon legally changed his name to William Baekeland in 2014, according to a close personal friend of his named Josh Radcliffe who spoke to Rolling Stone on his behalf. After he confronted Baekeland about his alleged forged identity over email, Mitsidis received a reply from Radcliffe, who claimed to be Baekelands personal confidant and business partner in a new venture called Atlas Travel and Expeditions LLC. Barbara Daly Baekeland was only 52 when she was stabbed to death in her luxurious Chelsea apartment in London on November 17th 1972. Mother of Anthony Baekeland, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Daly_Baekeland. Barbara Baekeland Facts 1. But not long after, their marriage began to show some obvious cracks, and thats when the trouble started. And who helped Tony deal with his escalating, disturbing behavior? Baekeland didnt immediately reveal it, but later claimed to have grown up wealthy, sailing around the world and attending prestigious schools. I understand, to an extent, what Harry did but I think with hindsight it worsened the financial outlook for the creditors considerably., Radcliffe admits that Baekeland should harbor some of the blame for the issue. Its about your suspicions 4 years ago you may, just may, have been right all along., Last November, in an email to various people who were familiar with Baekeland, Mitsids described the revelations as the groups day of apocalypse.. Main article: Savage Grace http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_Grace. She was murdered at her London home when her son Antony stabbed her with a kitchen knife, killing her almost instantly. Well that is exactly what happened. Growing up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she seemed destined for a well-adjusted upper-middle-class life. Shockingly, though, his knowledge of world geography was immense hed claimed to have already visited most of the 193 countries recognized by the United Nations. Charles Whitman (b. Preparing to fly across New York City and Northern New Jersey #nyc #newyorkcity #nj #newjersey #privateplane #airplane #lightaircraft #ewr #newark #ppl, A post shared by William Baekeland (@williambaekeland) on Jan 10, 2017 at 9:33pm PST. Antony was found at the scene of the crime, and later confessed to and was charged with her murder. Confused by Baekelands sudden disappearance, Mitsidis started to take Mike Kendall seriously. 2023 Rolling Stone, LLC. Even while he was in custody in Brixton prison, he asked visitors how his mother was doing and if she was still alive. Mike Kendall first noticed something wasnt right in 2011, when Gordon emailed him out of the blue, offering a luxury catamaran voyage from the Maldives to the Chagos Archipelago. Gazarian, who kept a casual correspondence with Baekeland, explains how the young explorer would occasionally send dispatches from his trips abroad. No one wanted to defend his right to freedom after this cold-blooded crime, and he was incarcerated for life at Rikers Island, New Yorks main prison, where his family money gave him access to a string of sexual partners and protectors and possible enemies. Radcliffe says Baekelands alleged victims are greatly exaggerating their cases. [2] She was the ex-wife of Brooks Baekeland, who was the grandson of Leo Baekeland, inventor of Bakelite plastic. The family are notorious for a murder which scandalised high society in 1972, in . [15], In late July 1972, Antony tried to throw his mother under the traffic outside her penthouse on Cadogan Square in Chelsea, London. The 50 Worst Decisions in Music History Despite her early tragedy, Barbaras life got better. He is a multi-millionaire and charters planes to go to incredible places. Brooks and Barbara were cycling through depressions and cheating on each other. Barbara and Brooks were getting hot and heavy in the 1940s, but that wasnt enough for the beautiful socialite. Needless to say, neither of them was much help. He was closing in on his goal of visiting all 193 countries (as defined by the United Nations), and planned to visit his final targetSerbiaalong with his mother, Lady Violette Baekeland, in October 2017 for an elite extreme traveler conference where they were set to become the first mother-son team to have visited every country in the world. Barbara gave birth to Anthony in August 1946. When the police arrived, they found Anthony, who was 25 years old at the time, ordering Chinese food over the phone. Unfortunately, this heartbreaking story gets even sadder. Barbara gave birth to a son, Antony Baekeland, on August 28, 1946. She and Tony spent the night in the slammer. In 1969, Barbara met noted pop art curator Samuel Adams Green, with whom she started an affair. After the film opened, Barbara Baekeland's former lover Samuel Adams Green wrote an article pointing out elements in the film, which were potentially misleading for those trying to read back to the reality inspiring it. Bonifas is a world traveler and corporate CEO who says hes owed roughly $40,000 for trips arranged by Baekeland that never materialized. After the life insurance payment had been collected, Barbara and her mother moved to New York City, taking up residence in the Delmonico Hotel. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "He will kill you: Shrink warned mother of Baekeland plastics heir", "DEATH OF A SOCIALITE: THE BARBARA BAEKELAND CASE", "Forbidden Fruit: Six Shocking Real Life Incest Stories Throughout History", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barbara_Daly_Baekeland&oldid=1152153406, American expatriates in the United Kingdom, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from December 2012, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Being murdered by her son with whom she allegedly had an incestuous relationship, This page was last edited on 28 April 2023, at 14:57. According to Last, part of Baekelands ploy was marking up the cost for journeys. Oh, you know, just bloody humans, the usual. The gruesome murder was the violent end to an emotional rollercoaster for the gorgeous socialite who was related (by marriage) to the Bakelite empire which introduced plastic to the world. Mitsidis wrote about it in his Nomad Mania newsletter, saying the other passengers on the ship, including some of his closest friends from the traveler community, try to comfort him as best they can in this hour of crisis., When the news broke, everyone rallied around Baekeland. While sources in the extreme travel world suspect Baekeland had a humble upbringing records suggest his parents home is in a working-class area of Birmingham, England Radcliffe says his friend hails from one of the most affluent enclaves in England outside of London., Trending Barbara Daly Baekeland (September 28, 1921 - November 17, 1972) [1] was a wealthy American socialite who was murdered by her son, Antony "Tony" Baekeland. These sources say Baekeland has yet to make good on reimbursements for the trips that they didnt go on. Nobodys ever going to see five cents out of this, says Bonifas. The parents werent ready for this responsibility, and it couldnt have come at a worse time. This led Barbara to severe depression and a further suicide attempt, from which her friend Gloria Jones, wife of author James Jones, saved her. In addition to shedding light on the familys grandiose lifestyle, Savage Grace chronicles how Brooks cheated on his wife, and eventually left the family for a much younger woman. Despite spending thousands of dollars to be there, the passengers were roughing it in cramped cabins cluttered with beds and luggage, while Baekeland stayed alone in a private room. Described in a brochure as a unique adventure sailing trip to one of the most pristine ocean environments in the world, the adventure cost $5,000 for a single spot, payable directly to the young mans personal bank account. It only made her love him more. The argument escalated quickly and turned violent. According to interviews Rolling Stone conducted with Mitsids and two other sources, the young man successfully carried out at least two trips, but there were nine more that they paid for either in part or in full but because of decisions made by either the travelers or Baekeland didnt come to pass. Police Unions Wield Massive Power in American Politics For Now, U.S. Open Womens Semi-Finals Preview: Venus Williams Leads the Pack, Lamar Odom on 2011 Lakers Trade: It Ended My Career and Purpose. By 1967, the family was living in Switzerland, and twenty-year-old Tony began an intimate relationship with a bisexual Australian man while he was in Morocco. The City of London Police confirmed two reports about Baekeland have been received by Action Fraud, the UKs cybercrime and fraud reporting agency. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Radcliffe also says hes offered to carry out some of Baekelands canceled trips, but all travelers have declined. The company hasnt carried out any trips as of yet, but Radcliffe says it has received significant interest from travelers in Japan. Barbara dismissed the doctor's assertion. The elder Baekelands invention, Bakelite a chemical compound made of carbolic acid and formaldehyde unwittingly paved the way for the birth of Twentieth-century consumerism and, in many ways, the modern world. If you bought into the story, Baekeland was going to make history as one of the worlds most accomplished explorers, bringing everyone he knew along for the ride. [citation needed], After Barbara falsely told Brooks Baekeland that she was pregnant,[6] the couple quickly married in California. Brooks, on the other hand, was against the move and believed his son should have been found guilty of first-degree murder. William was clever enough and shrewd enough to tap into that market., A post shared by William Baekeland (@williambaekeland) on Feb 10, 2017 at 4:57pm PST. I think she simply enjoyed shocking people., Green then embarked on legal action against the film makers, which was still unresolved at the time of his death.[11][12]. In her eyes, his erratic behavior, creepy artwork, and wicked sense of humor were just signs of his genius. Leo Baekeland, in full Leo Hendrik Baekeland, (born November 14, 1863, Ghent, Belgiumdied February 23, 1944, Beacon, New York, U.S.), U.S. industrial chemist who helped found the modern plastics industry through his invention of Bakelite, the first thermosetting plastic (a plastic that does not soften when heated). The now-thirty-three-year-old was accompanied on the plane by a total stranger his grandmothers friend who happened to live near Broadmoor. But faking a pregnancy should have been the first red flag. She was 51 years of age at the time, and Antony was 25. Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian Folk-Rock Troubadour, Dead at 84 By the time he was about ten years old, his parents had decided to lead a nomadic life and travel the world with an apartment in Paris, where the relationship problems began. During his confession, Tony admitted that he wanted to sleep with his 87-year-old grandma. He asserted himself as a travel fixer, the kind of guru who could coordinate trips to the most far-flung countries, territories, islands and atolls that seemingly no one could access. However during their marriage, Barbara's mental instability became obvious. Sadly, her erratic behavior started to surface even before the wedding. After eight months of assessment by the psychiatric team at Rikers Island, he was expecting to be released on bail at a court hearing on March 20, 1981. Anthony was subsequently admitted to The Priory private psychiatric hospital, but was released soon afterwards. She pursued Green relentlessly; when she returned to the United States that fall, she walked barefoot across Central Park in the snow wearing nothing but a Lynx fur coat to demand entry to his apartment. After the stabbing, his mind manifested that he thought he was doing Nini a favor as it was the kinder thing to kill her. Its the insult., The only place Bonifas did reach via Baekeland was Palmyra Atoll, a pristine and unvarnished research station located in the remote Northern Line Islands, about 1,000 miles south of Hawaii. At first, Brooks was everything Barbara wanted, but in the long run, this romance led to a gruesome bloodbath. My main purpose is I dont want to see anybody else scammed by this sonofabitch, Bob Bonifas says over the phone, his voice growing testy as he recounts his experiences with Baekeland. After sleuthing around his online footprint, Kendall says he noticed Gordon was using the same picture on Linkedin that someone named William Simon Baekeland was using on The Best Traveled. Back in Britain, it turned out that Tonys Broadmoor consultant admitted that Tonys release was a faux pas and was perhaps aware that the lack of proper psychiatric care and supervision would eventually lead to tragedy. The old-style explorer with a hat.. Instead, he ran away. Leo was born in 1863. As Mitsidis puts it, Baekelands demeanor was convincing enough to gain entry into the travel groups inner circle. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. At this point, with no assistance, it seemed as though the mentally disturbed former inmate was on an inevitable path of violence. George Washington Baekeland. Barbara Daly Baekeland (September 28, 1921 - November 17, 1972) was a wealthy American socialite who was murdered by her son, Antony "Tony" Baekeland. Baekeland claimed his bank confused Palmyra Atoll with the ISIS stronghold of Palmyra, Syria, and impounded the funds. (Rolling Stone tried contacting Baekelands family via telephone, but the listed number was disconnected.) He didn't stab her many times as his initial stab killed her almost instantly. Its unclear whether Brooks had tried reaching out to Tony in the past, but he started viewing his first son, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, as strange and peculiar. It is based on the appalling true story and murder of socialite Barbara Baekeland, the wife of Brooks Baekeland, the affluent heir of the Bakelite plastics fortune. She Had Humble Beginnings Advertisement On September 28, 1921, Barbara Baekeland was born as Barbara Daly to a normal American family. They claim theyre owed money by Baekeland for these trips. The issue is being cheated, Bonifas says. Because of their fierce individualism and competitiveness, some extreme travelers can become easy marks.. William played to the ego, and theres a lot of ego out there, says Terry Last, a traveler who went on the expedition to Palmyra. [11] After six weeks, Green broke off the relationship, although Barbara was still obsessed with him. After Brooks requested a divorce and Barbara subsequently tried to commit suicide, Brooks terminated the affair.