The Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno’s wife has filed for divorce, accusing him of flaunting a mistress and trapping her in an abusive and controlling marriage after she was diagnosed with dementia, has exclusively learned can reveal.
Ferrigno’s wife Carla, 74, made the disturbing allegations in recent court filings in San Luis Obispo County, California, as she opposed his attempt to set up a court-ordered conservatorship to control her affairs.
This came after Ferrigno, 71, claimed in court that Carla had “advanced dementia” and accused her own daughter, 42-year-old Shanna, of “elder abuse” for trying to drive Carla to the bank Withdraw $500,000.
In response, Carla is now accusing Ferrigno, to whom she has been married for 43 years, of secretly denying her access to their shared finances and keeping her physically isolated to prevent her from getting a divorce.
In a signed statement, she also claims that Ferrigno is having a brazen affair with a mistress named Lisa, “with whom he spends most of his time, traveling to his various performances and showing me in my face even when he is at home.”
Lou Ferrigno is seen in 2020 with his wife Carla and their children Lou Jr. and Shanna. Carla has filed for divorce and is fighting Lou’s claims that her daughter is responsible for “elder abuse.”
Ferrigno was a bodybuilding rival of Arnold Schwarzenegger before becoming known as an actor, best known for The Incredible Hulk
“Although his infidelity may not be abuse, he physically intimidates me when I am upset by his presence around them by looking me in the face and using his much larger size – he will remind everyone that he is the Hulk – compared to me.” “I’m small enough to intimidate and force myself into submission,” Carla said.
“While he towers over me, he yells at me, saying horrible things about me and making sure I understand that I’m ruining his life and that he won’t take care of me,” she adds.
Ferrigno was a bodybuilding rival of Arnold Schwarzenegger before becoming an actor best known for “The Hulk” – and their competition was the subject of the 1977 documentary “Pumping Iron.”
Ferrigno’s lawyer Vatche Zetjian responded in a statement to : “Lou’s priority remains the well-being of his wife.” All restraining orders recently mentioned in the press have been suspended by mutual agreement of the parties.
“Lou and Carla have agreed to mediate through legal counsel and Lou remains hopeful that they will reach an amicable resolution.” “Lou requests privacy for all of his family members at this time.”
Although Carla confirms on file that she has been diagnosed with dementia, both her doctor and her lawyer say she has repeatedly expressed her desire for a divorce for years and understands that decision.
“Lou decided to concoct what can only be described as a Machiavellian scheme to lure Carla into the marriage trap so that he could keep all of the assets that Carla and Lou had accumulated during their 43-year marriage,” Carla’s lawyers wrote in a file.
Those assets include the $2.9 million mansion the couple purchased in Arroyo Grande, California, in 2019.
California community property law typically requires that all assets acquired during a marriage or acquired with that income be divided equally in a divorce.
Text messages between Lou and Shanna, including those in the files, purport to show Lou complaining that Carla wanted to divorce him over a year ago.
In several messages, Lou shares his concern that a divorce would mean the loss of their mansion, writing, “She can take my house away from me” and “She wants to take away my beautiful home.”
Carla’s lawyers claimed Ferrigno was keeping her trapped in their marriage because he feared losing the $2.9 million mansion they purchased in 2019
Text messages between Lou and Shanna, including those in the files, purport to show Lou complaining that Carla wanted to divorce him over a year ago
This came after Ferrigno, 71, accused her own daughter, 42-year-old Shanna (above), of “elder abuse” for trying to drive Carla to the bank to withdraw $500,000
According to court documents reviewed by , Carla met with her lawyers Gary Hunt and Alex Newsum on September 8 to seek a divorce.
“Without disclosing communications between attorney and client, I can say that Carla has expressed a clear desire to divorce her husband, Lou Ferrigno, and to retain our office to prosecute this lawsuit,” Newsum said in a signed statement.
Newsum said he then spoke with Dr. Robert Price, Carla’s neurologist for the past three years, is on the phone to consult on her mental state.
According to Newsum and confirmed in a signed letter from Price, the doctor expressed his belief that Carla was capable of understanding and expressing her wishes regarding a divorce and taking the necessary legal action.
Price wrote in his Sept. 13 letter that when they first met in 2020, Carla complained “bitterly” about her marriage, particularly the recent move to Arroyo Grande and the mansion, which she said was “solely owned by inspired by her husband and his needs.’
On Sept. 14, Carla’s attorneys filed a divorce petition and a request for a temporary restraining order, which included a statement about the alleged abuse and a supportive statement from employed caregiver Kari Shaw.
“Through recent filings and statements from his lawyers, Lou has made it known that I have been diagnosed with dementia, but what he is ignoring is that his own frustration with this fact and my aging are preventing me from keeping up with him.” This led him to insult me in many ways,” she said in the statement.
“I’m not denying that I don’t feel the same as I did when I was younger, but I know what’s going on around me, how Lou treats me and that he’s trying to make sure I’m treated as completely incompetent “So he can use our assets and let me die,” she continued.
“I know that I want a divorce and that Lou is trying to prevent that by isolating me from other family members,” Carla said.
Lou and Carla Ferrigno are pictured in Los Angeles in 1985. They married in 1980
Lou Ferrigno was a famous bodybuilder and later actor in the 1970s and 80s
Carla also appeared to address Lou’s previous claims that her daughter Shanna tried to get her to withdraw $500,000 from his bank account – although the filing doesn’t specifically mention describing the same incident.
In a motion for a restraining order, Lou claimed that Shanna, a fitness instructor, and her aunt, Carla’s sister Pam Voge, were trying to drain Carla’s assets and accused them of “financially exploiting” Carla.
Carla said in her statement: “I believed I had access to some joint accounts and credit cards, but recently went to the bank to access them and Lou had used estate planning documents to restrict my access and he was notified of my attempt. “ “came to the bank and made sure there was no way I could get our money.”
The statement makes disturbing claims that Lou severely restricts Carla’s movements within the villa by locking the interior doors and confining her to her bedroom and the kitchen.
She claims he failed to make the house safer for her deteriorating mental state by adding traction on the stairs or a fence around the pool.
She claims that her bed smells like dog urine because her 17-year-old dog had difficulty walking down the stairs to get outside, and that Lou refuses to steam clean the carpet.
“Lou has and will continue to have total control over me through physical intimidation, emotional abuse, restricting my freedom of movement in our own home, denying me access to our property and, what worries me most, attempting to “To make sure I…” “I don’t have access to my family, including our own children,” Carla said.
She claimed Lou’s request for a restraining order against Shanna was an attempt to cut her off from family who could help her.
“While Lou has long been willing to allow me to be cared for by our daughter and my sister, as well as dedicated carers, now that they are holding him accountable for his abuse, he is taking steps to limit my contact.” “You,” Carla said.
Carla told the court that she would like her daughter Shanna to handle her affairs, or alternatively her son Lou Jr.