Orianne Cevey is the Swiss jewelry designer best known as Phil Collins’s third wife — and the woman at the center of one of the most expensive celebrity divorces in British history. When their marriage ended in 2008, Collins paid her a record £25 million, a figure that made headlines around the world.
But the marriage, the divorce and even the reunion that followed are only part of her story. Orianne is also an entrepreneur who built her own jewelry line, a philanthropist who co-founded the Little Dreams Foundation with Collins, and a woman who survived a botched spinal operation that left her partially paralyzed. There is much more to the story than the settlement figure.
This is the full arc of Orianne Cevey’s life: how a 22-year-old translator met a rock legend, their lavish wedding, two sons, the record-breaking divorce, her health battle, the 2016 reunion, the dramatic 2020 breakup — and what she is doing now.
| Full Name | Orianne Cevey |
| Born | 1974, in Nyon, Switzerland |
| Age | 52 |
| Birthplace | Nyon, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Parents | Father Swiss, mother Thai — their names have never been made public |
| Profession | Jewelry designer, entrepreneur |
| Spouses | Phil Collins (1999–2008); Charles Mejjati (2008–2017); Thomas Bates (2020–2021) |
| Children | Nicholas Collins, Matthew Collins, Andrea Mejjati |
| Known For | Co-founding the Little Dreams Foundation |
| Current Status | Lives in Florida; runs her own jewelry business |
Who Is Orianne Cevey?
Orianne Cevey is a Swiss jewelry designer and businesswoman whose high-profile marriage to the Genesis frontman Phil Collins made her a fixture of celebrity news for two decades. She met Collins in 1994 when she was 22 and working as his French-language translator during Swiss promotional events. They married in 1999, had two sons, and divorced in 2008 in a settlement worth £25 million — at the time the largest celebrity divorce payout in British showbiz history.
Years after the split, the two famously got back together, living as a family again in Miami from 2016 until a dramatic second breakup in 2020. Through it all, Orianne has kept building: her own event company, her jewelry line, and the Little Dreams Foundation she co-founded with Collins in 2000.
Early Life and the Road to Phil Collins
Orianne was born in 1974 in Nyon, a town on the shore of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Her father is Swiss and her mother is from Thailand, a mixed heritage she has spoken about with pride. As a teenager she was interested in sports — tennis, golf, skiing — and started mixed martial arts training at a young age, eventually earning a black belt.
She wanted to pursue jewelry design, but her father steered her toward business, and she graduated with a degree in international management. Orianne began her career as a marketing and communications manager at a Swiss capital firm, then started her own event management company in 1994. Around the same time she was hired as a French translator for visiting international stars — and one of them was Phil Collins.
Collins was on tour in Switzerland when they met. Orianne was 22; he was still married to his second wife, Jill Tavelman. What began as a professional arrangement — she helped him through press meetings and promotional events — gradually became a relationship. In 1997, they got engaged.
A Lavish Wedding and a New Life
They married in 1999 in Lausanne, Switzerland, in a lavish three-day celebration for 300 guests that included Eric Clapton and Elton John. The paparazzi were transfixed: she was 21 years younger than the singer, and this was his third trip down the aisle.
The couple settled in a grand property overlooking Lake Geneva in Bugnins — a house once owned by Grand Prix legend Jackie Stewart. In 2000, Orianne and Phil founded the Little Dreams Foundation, which supports underprivileged children in pursuing their talents. Their first son, Nicholas Grev Austin, was born on April 21, 2001, followed by Matthew Thomas Clemente on December 1, 2004. In 2002, Phil announced he would step back from world tours to spend more time with his family.
The £25 Million Divorce
In 2006, the couple announced they were separating, with Orianne telling the press calmly that their interests were simply no longer the same and that separation was best. The divorce was finalized in 2008, and the settlement stopped the show: Collins paid Orianne £25 million — roughly $47 million at the time — beating the £24.3 million Paul McCartney had just paid Heather Mills and setting a new British celebrity record.
It was the second time Collins had paid out a fortune: his 1994 divorce from Jill Tavelman had cost him £17 million, the one he famously initiated by fax. Between the two, he had handed over more than £42 million — nearly a third of his fortune. High-profile splits that stayed out of the courtroom glare have their own history — from Orianne’s to that of Constantine Yankoglu, the first husband of Everybody Loves Raymond star Patricia Heaton, whose own divorce Beverly Magazine previously profiled.
Life After Phil: Marriage, Motherhood and Paralysis
Even before her divorce from Collins was finalized, Orianne had begun a relationship with Swiss investment banker Charles Fouad Mejjati. She married him in 2008, and their daughter Andrea was born in March 2011. That marriage ended in divorce around 2017.
Meanwhile, Orianne was building her own career. In 2014 she launched her own line of jewelry, designing pieces for women, men and children and selling them through her own website. That same year, her life took a frightening turn: she was treated for a slipped disc in her neck, and the surgery to replace the damaged disc with a prosthetic left her partially paralyzed. She was later diagnosed with Brown-Séquard syndrome, a rare spinal cord condition. After months of rehabilitation she learned to walk again, but she still uses a cane.
The 2016 Reunion — and the Dramatic 2020 Breakup
In January 2016 came the twist nobody expected: Orianne and Phil announced they were back together and living as a family in Miami with their sons. “The separation was the wrong decision,” she told the Swiss newspaper SonntagsBlick. “I now call Phil my husband again.” Phil, who had moved to Miami to be closer to the boys, said breaking up with her had been a mistake. They spoke of remarrying, though it never happened.
The reunion collapsed in 2020 in spectacular fashion. While Collins was on tour, Orianne secretly married a 32-year-old musician, Thomas Bates, and moved him into Collins’s $40 million Miami mansion — hiring private security to keep Collins out of his own home. Collins filed for eviction; Orianne filed a counterclaim demanding another $20 million. The marriage to Bates ended in divorce in 2021.
The 2023 Auction of Phil’s Treasures
In December 2023, Orianne made headlines again when she auctioned off a trove of Phil Collins’s most iconic possessions through the Miami-based Kodner Auction Gallery. The sale, held on December 6, included his Yamaha piano — the family’s piano, on which Phil had taught their son Nicholas to play — his Wurlitzer jukebox, and a huge collection of Chanel pieces; Orianne said she had been the fashion house’s number-one client since 2001, with more than 500 pairs of Chanel shoes, plus Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry.
Experts expected the auction to fetch between $4.5 million and $6.6 million. “It pains me to part with these cherished items, but I recently downsized homes and simply do not have room,” she told Page Six. She added that a large portion of the proceeds would go to the Never Give Up Foundation, which supports people with disabilities such as spinal muscular atrophy.
Where Is She Now?
Orianne lives in Florida, where she continues to run her jewelry business. Some biographies put her net worth at over $40 million — a figure that circulates widely but has never been confirmed by a named source, so it should be treated with caution. What is certain is that she remains devoted to her three children and to the charitable work of the Little Dreams Foundation, which she and Collins founded together and which survived their divorce. Nic Collins, now an accomplished drummer in his own right, has publicly celebrated his father — and the family, for all its turbulence, stays connected through the two sons at its center.
Bottom Line
Orianne Cevey’s life reads like a novel nobody would dare to submit to a publisher: the translator who married the rock star, the record divorce, the second husband, the paralysis, the reunion, the Miami mansion standoff, the auction of the piano. But strip away the headlines and a steadier picture emerges — a woman who built her own companies, designed her own jewelry, founded a charity for children, and raised three of them through every twist. The £25 million made her famous. Everything since has been hers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Phil Collins’ third wife?
Phil Collins’s third wife is Orianne Cevey, a Swiss jewelry designer. They married in 1999 in Lausanne, Switzerland, had two sons — Nicholas (born 2001) and Matthew (born 2004) — and divorced in 2008. His first wife was Andrea Bertorelli (1975–1980) and his second was Jill Tavelman (1984–1996).
How much did Orianne Cevey get in her divorce from Phil Collins?
She received £25 million (about $47 million at the time) when the divorce was finalized in 2008. It was the largest celebrity divorce settlement in British history at the time, surpassing the £24.3 million Paul McCartney paid Heather Mills.
Are Phil Collins and Orianne Cevey back together?
No. They reconciled in January 2016 and lived together in Miami with their sons, even discussing remarriage — but the relationship ended for good in 2020, when Orianne secretly married Thomas Bates and a legal battle erupted over Collins’s Miami mansion.
How many children does Orianne Cevey have?
Three: Nicholas Collins (born April 21, 2001) and Matthew Collins (born December 1, 2004) with Phil Collins, and a daughter, Andrea Mejjati (born March 2011), with her second husband Charles Mejjati.
What does Orianne Cevey do now?
She runs her own jewelry line, which she launched in 2014, and remains involved with the Little Dreams Foundation, the children’s charity she co-founded with Phil Collins in 2000. She lives in Florida.
