Billionaire producer David Geffen reaches divorce settlement with model ex-husband
David Geffen and ex-husband Donovan Michaels (Image: Getty Images for Vogue)
David Geffen has reportedly reached a divorce settlement with ex-husband Donovan Michaels, after court paperwork showed the case is now marked “uncontested”.
The 83-year-old billionaire entertainment mogul and Michaels, 33, were together for seven years before marrying in May 2023, and they did not have a prenup. Geffen, who had a ‘special arrangement’ with Cher in the 1970s, filed for divorce in May 2025, citing irreconcilable differences.
The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, according to TMZ.
Court documents are said to indicate both parties have agreed on remaining financial issues. Those issues were previously understood to include spousal support, division of property and attorney fees, even after the pair were declared legally single in November.
How the split escalated
The divorce turned contentious in mid-2025 when Michaels, who also goes by David Armstrong, filed a lawsuit two months after the divorce filing. The complaint included allegations about exploitation and controlling behaviour, as well as claims about how the relationship began.
In the complaint, Michaels alleged he first met Geffen in 2016 on a sugar daddy website, “where men like Geffen shop for the vulnerable”. The lawsuit also described an alleged $10,000 payment for sex on their first night together.
Michaels later dropped the lawsuit in October 2025, requesting it be dismissed “without prejudice”, meaning it could be re-filed.
David Geffen’s net worth
Geffen has an estimated net worth of $9billion. During the dispute, he had reportedly said he would be willing to pay $50,000 a month in spousal support for 12 months, and claimed he had given Michaels $200,000 since the split while covering $15,000 monthly rent.
Geffen co-founded Asylum Records and Geffen Records, and later co-founded DreamWorks SKG with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg. A major arts philanthropist, his name is attached to prominent cultural institutions, and he publicly came out as gay in the early 1990s, becoming one of the most prominent openly gay figures in US business.
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