Italian high society has been in an uproar after the wedding of a multimillionaire banker in Turin took a somber turn when the groom accused his bride of cheating in a speech at the engagement party, sparking a major public row between the two.
Massimo Segre, 64, gathered guests at his villa in Turin to celebrate his upcoming wedding to Cristina Seymandi, 47.
But instead of the usual loving speech one might expect from a bride-to-be, Massimo instead accused his wife-to-be of cheating, shocking Torino high society.
At a lavish banquet, he said, “I want to give Cristina the freedom to love.”
“Specifically, loving another person; a remarkable attorney who obviously cares more about her than me.”
“Dear Cristina, I know how much you are in love with him mentally and sexually,” he added.
“And I know that before him you had a relationship with a well-known industrialist.”
Stunned, Cristina looks around the room of around 150 guests and looks for support, while her fiancé shares painful photos of his partner with another man.
“Don’t think I get any pleasure from looking like a cuckold in front of you all,” Massimo then tells his friends, apparently devastated by his partner’s alleged betrayal as the incident falls silent.
“Cristina is so good at speaking her truths that I couldn’t leave her to tell me the reason I’m quitting.” [our] life together tonight.
“It’s a mundane story of infidelity, even premarital.” “I’m so disappointed,” he says. ‘My heart is broken.’
Massimo was seen reading a prepared speech about his wife’s alleged infidelity in Turin
A moment of horror as Cristina looks around and is accused of having an affair with a lawyer
He then wishes her well before telling her to go to Mykonos with her lover as the trip is already paid for.
As soon as the speech ended, the lights dimmed and Massimo left the stage.
Italian media reported that guests resented being “used” on the show.
The stunned guests stared in silence, not knowing what to think.
Since the engagement party, a video taken by one of the guests went viral, leading to Cristina becoming the subject of death threats.
In a letter to the director of the Zona Bianca news program, Christina said Massimo committed an act of “psychological violence” and “carefully planned his revenge.”
She added that she was given a precious sapphire ring by Massimo’s mother on their engagement, which “mysteriously disappeared” 15 days before the party.
Speaking to the Times, Cristina’s aide said she will take legal action against her ex-fiancé over “reputational damage”.
“She suffered very severe attacks on social media and threats from Italian citizens.” “It was traumatic,” she said.
Cristina Seymandi, entrepreneur and politician
Massimo is pictured (right) in a post on Instagram
Her lawyer Claudio Strata added that the banker “deliberately humiliated her”.
“The letter was read to dozens of people and captured on video that was sent to the newspapers.” “We don’t think it was improvised.”
Massimo categorically denies having published the video, let alone filmed it.
He has since accused Cristina of stealing €700,000 (£598,000) from the couple’s joint account, but she says the money was transferred with his consent before the relationship ended.
Cristina responded in an interview with La Stampa after the event.
She said that the bags for Mykonos are “already packed” and urged viewers to make up their own minds: “In any family, the dynamics are very complex and difficult to understand from the outside.”
She said at the time when she thought, “He’s gone mad.”
“He was very tired at the time,” she said.
“I’m sure there’s someone behind him who started the flames.” In short, manipulated him.’
She also remarked, “The work is done and I can’t afford to lose it.”
“My professional life requires me to react and stay clear. “I will consider possible safeguards in civil and criminal matters.”
Cristina summed it up: “It was a farce, let’s face it. Serious things are solved differently.’
“Now I’m going to think about suing him,” she said.
Viviana Ferrero, former vice-president of Turin City Council and Cristina’s friend, described the crackdown as a “sexist lynching”.
She said, “Two things have hurt me, the ending of a beautiful love story and the lynching of Cristina, which has been going on for days.” A sexist, chauvinist, violent, horrific lynching.
She continued, “The family does dirty laundry and they were, albeit for a short time, a very special family.”
“And they could have been one of the most beautiful couples because they combined so many qualities.”
“I’m not happy when the rich cry.”
Massimo’s mother, Franca Bruna Segre, was also known as a key figure in Italian finance and headed Banca Intermobiliare before her son became its financier.
The 64-year-old is also a director of Directa Sim, a company that deals with online commerce, and has worked in other areas such as health and media.
To make matters worse, Cristina is professionally involved with some of these companies and has been listed on LinkedIn as Director of Directa Sim since February.
She has also been appointed CEO of Savio Thesan Spa, a company she joined through the acquisition of its shares through the recently formed Hope SRL.
Cristina is the daughter of a renowned accountant from Turin and has held various positions in politics and business over the course of her eventful career.
Cristina watches as Massimo accuses her of having an affair with an unnamed lawyer
In 2021, she backed the mayoral campaign of centre-right candidate Paolo Damilano in Turin, who vowed to nominate her as deputy if he won.
Damilano lost to center-left candidate Stefano Lo Russo in the runoff, and as a candidate for city council, Cristina only managed 318 “preferences.”
Segre and Cristina met around the time of the pandemic, but it delayed their wedding twice.
Finally, the plans were made and “around 200” guests were invited to the lawn overlooking the Mole Antonelliana, a symbol of Turin, to finally announce the date in October.
But what started out as a general thank you to the audience for coming took a sudden turn when Segre took the chance to knock out his partner.
The full speech by Massimo Segre
“Tonight I want to give Cristina the freedom to love.” To love a person, a well-known lawyer, who she obviously cares more about than I do and who I think has managed to become obnoxious just to avoid me insult.
“My dear Cristina, I know how in love you are, both mentally and sexually, how did you manage to develop self-confidence?” And I know that before him you were in a relationship with a well-known industrialist.
“My dear friends, don’t think I enjoy being a cuckold in front of you all, but Cristina was so good at speaking her truths that I couldn’t let her tell me why I be.” I’ll leave her tonight.
“What did she say to her poor mother? Because the woman was afraid that her daughter would no longer be safe to sleep with me. And what did she tell you all that pushed the truth aside? It’s a mundane story of infidelity, even premarital.
“I am very disappointed and heartbroken. I blame myself for not understanding how a woman can’t really love you when marriage puts you against your own children, with whom I’ve struggled to restore a relationship that has been deteriorating over these three years has.
“My dear Cristina, go to Mykonos with your lawyer, be happy with him, you know that everything is paid for as he paid for the trip to Vietnam with your daughter, a great young lady whose involvement I am very disappointed .” in this situation.
“I confirm if you wish that on your return we can consider how we can continue a professional collaboration however our story ends today.”
“I wish you the best of luck with your new partner and may you continue to shine in the world through all these years.” Sorry and good night.