Recalling a “Strange Tip” Saying Marianne Lives with Her Ex-husband
One night, 36 years ago, as summer was coming to an end, the editorial department of “FRIDAY” received a phone call. The caller’s voice sounded like a young woman. As soon as she answered the phone, the woman began to speak.
Marianne is meeting with a man right now.
It was a so-called informational call.
Not only “FRIDAY,” but the editorial departments of weekly magazines often receive phone calls from people offering information, called “tip-offs. Some of the calls were clearly “false,” and others were from “fun-loving criminals” who called reporters to the scene of the crime, falsely claiming to have witnessed the crime, and then enjoyed watching the reporters cover the crime behind their backs. Some of the calls were pranks.
However, on this occasion, the woman gave details of the man she said Marianne was with, including his name, age, occupation, and home, and the information seemed believable, if not 100% reliable. One thing that stuck out to me was that Marianne was dating Ken Matsudaira at the time, and there were whispers of marriage, if not a countdown.
Three months before this phone call, “FRIDAY” had captured a photo of the two on a late-night date in Nishi-Azabu, and Matsudaira had responded to a reporter’s direct questioning. Matsudaira responded directly to the reporter, saying that Marianne was the woman he cared about most, that he intended to continue their relationship, and that he was even considering marriage.
Three months later, the two broke up, and Marianne is said to be seeing someone new.
The man was Mr. S, who appeared in the current issue of Josei Seven. It was hard to believe at first glance, but when we began our interview, we found that the information brought by the woman was not a rumor.
The woman on the phone provided very detailed information about when and where the two would meet, but just as we were about to begin the first round of interviews and stakeouts, the woman called and told us that they would not be meeting that day due to a change in plans. This gave us no reason to doubt the caller, but we wondered how she could have obtained such detailed information, so we asked her.
The woman strongly denied it and claimed to be a friend of Marianne’s. However, she would not agree to be interviewed in person. The reason this woman called us was,
“Marianne wants to get married, but Mr. S. is running away, and I can’t stand to see him.”
This was the reason.
Thanks to her accurate information, the interview was successful, and we were able to catch the couple in front of Marianne’s house. Three months later, they were married. Marianne’s left ring finger was decorated with a 20.5 million yen diamond, a gift from Mr. S’s father, which cost 260 million yen.
Their marriage was off to a brilliant start, but,
The marriage collapsed after more than 10 years, and a bitter divorce ensued. It was reported that Marianne was demanding 500 million yen in alimony and 1.5 million yen a month in living expenses from her husband, and the weekly magazines were abuzz with reports.
Although the claim did not come to fruition, the alimony was settled at 200 million yen in total, including the Hawaiian condominium, and child support at 1 million yen for the three children, and Marianne and her three children moved to Hawaii.
Mr. S. later remarried and had a child with a hostess who was said to be the cause of his divorce from Marianne, but he divorced that woman as well.
The woman is Biko, and an article in Josei Seven revealed a surprising fact.
Mr. S currently lives with his eldest son with his wife, Marianne, and Ms. B, and Marianne sometimes comes to visit them.
In an interview with Josei Seven, Mr. S said, “I was very happy to see her.”
“Sometimes the child born to her and Biko comes to stay with them. I feel that the children are the link between them. The children are all friendly with each other, without any rancor.”
The scene reminds me of one often seen in foreign movies, but as the saying goes, “Children are a bond between people.”
Text： Hiroyuki Sasaki (Entertainment Journalist)
Born in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Hiroyuki Sasaki became a reporter for FRIDAY at the age of 31, reporting numerous scoops during his time with FRIDAY and later working mainly for weekly magazines. Currently he also appears on TV and radio as a commentator.
Photo： Sankei Shimbun
