Socialite Tinsley Mortimer has finally put an end to her tumultuous relationship with wealthy scion Nico Fanjul — and escaped a jail sentence — by agreeing to stay away from him following a trespassing arrest earlier this year.
Mortimer, who appeared on the reality show “High Society,” was arrested outside of the Palm Beach home of Nico, son of billionaire sugar baron Alexander, last April, wailing that he was in the house with another woman. Mortimer had earlier been issued a trespassing warning in October.
At the time, the socialite claimed she was there to get her purse, and allegations surfaced the relationship was abusive. Mortimer was hospitalized “due to a possible battery” in 2013. And in 2014, “[Mortimer] said Fanjul . . . tried to smother her with a pillow,” according to police. Later that year a neighbor told police he “witnessed Fanjul tackle [Mortimer] and push her head into the pavement.”
This week, Mortimer signed a deal saying she will not contact Nico and will stay away from his home and his powerful family.
The charges will be officially dismissed on Dec. 30. Until then, she was warned not to be arrested for another crime or traffic violation or she might face jail time.
“She just didn’t want to live with this anymore,” says a source close to Mortimer of her decision to take the deal rather than head to trial. “She doesn’t want to talk to Nico now or in 30 years, so what difference does it make? She could have gone to trial, but she didn’t want to drag people through the mud. Plus, she believes of the legal system: If you have money and power, you can get away with anything.”
Mortimer is in counseling and has spoken to other domestic violence victims. “Being arrested saved her life in so many ways,” says the source. “She can’t imagine why she let herself fall in love with someone like this.”
Nico’s mother Nicole has denied the abuse allegations. “All [Mortimer’s] black-and-blue stuff is what she’s done to herself or what somebody else has done to her,” Nicole told the Post earlier this year. “This makes ‘Fatal Attraction’ look like a cartoon. She’s insane … She’s going up against us and she’s going down.”