Steamy Affairs, Shocking Arrests & More! The Richie Family's Top 10 Secrets & Scandals EXPOSED
From Lionel to Nicole and Sofia, they can't stay away from controversy!
Aug. 22 2016, Published 10:25 a.m. ET
Justin Bieber's new girlfriend Sofia Richie has a haunted family past! Over the years, her famous family has been caught up in scandals that include shocking affairs, drugs and violent arrests, and RadarOnline.com has all the dirty details.
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Lionel Richie and then-wife Brenda Harvey had a rocky relationship before ultimately divorcing in 1993. As Star magazine reported in 1988, Harvey was arrested after she caught the musician and his secret mistress, then 22-year-old waitress Diane Alexander!
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"When I entered the apartment, I saw Diane pinned under another woman who was hitting, kicking and pulling Diane by her hair. The other woman's leg was bleeding. There was blood on the hardwood floor. Diane's roommate woke up and was standing there, too. There was nothing we could do but call the police," a neighbor told Star at the time.
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The witness also claimed that it took six police officers to pull Lionel's enraged wife, then 35, off of the mistress. Cops also took fistfuls of Alexander's hair as evidence after Harvey reportedly pulled them out.
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Harvey also punched her former husband in the stomach during the vicious attack that ensued after she followed them back to Alexander's apartment and caught them cheating. She was charged with corporal injury to a spouse, resisting arrest, trespassing, vandalism, battery and disturbing the peace. The charges were eventually dropped.
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A few months after the shocking attack, the famous couple, who were never able to have children of their own, were desperate to adopt a baby to save their dwindling marriage, Star reported in 1988. Although the couple eventually adopted Nicole six years after first meeting her at a Prince concert when she was just 4 years old.
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Although they got their wish, Lionel and Harvey eventually called it quits. Not long after, in 1995, Lionel married Alexander — former mistress and mom to Sofia and Miles Richie. But the relationship was short-lived and the once-happy couple divorced in 2004.
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The shocking split almost left the music icon broke, however, as the divorce was one of the most expensive Hollywood divorces in history! Alexander tried to get $300,000 a month for spousal and child support. Along with her $20 million settlement, $50,000 of the monthly check would go to manicures, massages and other personal expenses. She also requested a $20,000-per-year plastic surgery budget.
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Sofia's adopted sister Nicole Richie has been in and out of her own legal battles! "I got arrested for a DUI when I was 20," she told People in 2003. A year earlier, the socialite tuned TV star was arrested after being involved in a club brawl in New York. Those charges were eventually dropped.
In 2003, the mother of two was arrested in Malibu for driving with a revoked license. Cops also found heroin in her car and she was sentenced to a three-year probation.
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In December 2006 the fashion designer was charged with a DUI after she admitted to smoking marijuana and using vicodin. She was sentenced to four days in jail but ultimately ended up serving 82 minutes because of overcrowding. After a series of anti-drinking driving classes and a rehab stint, a California judge ended Nicole's probation on Dec. 29, 2010. She's since cleaned up her act!
