Net-a-Porter founder Dame Natalie Massenet is suing her ex over allegations he spent millions of dollars of her money while funding his “secret life” filled with drug use, prostitutes, and multiple affairs.
Dame Natalie, 60, who founded the clothing website in 2000, filed the bombshell claim against 47-year-old Erik Torstensson while blaming him for the breakdown of their 14-year relationship after he allegedly confessed to being a “liar, drug addict, alcoholic and sex addict.”
Documents submitted to the Superior Court of Los Angeles, seen by British newspapers Daily Mail and The Telegraph, show lawyers for the fashion queen also allege that Torstensson used Dame Natalie for “social clout” and left her with their child “as soon as he had finished spending Massenet’s money.”
The British-American fashion pioneer is suing Torstensson, founder of the denim brand Frame, for emotional distress, breach of contract, and fraud while claiming he used their relationship, which ended in May, to gain “power, influence and a better life.”
The filings state that the couple agreed that Dame Natalie would cover the costs of their luxurious life together, and that she vowed to invest in his business on the basis that he would pay her back.
Dame Natalie alleges that she spent “more than $95 million during the course of their relationship on expensive properties, lifestyle expenses, vacations, and more” believing Torstensson would “repay her in kind.”
Instead, he is alleged to have used her money to “rent flashy private planes and art to impress his peers” as well as cut her out of any “potential earnings from her significant investment in Torstensson” over the last 15 years.
The filings include screenshots of text messages Torstensson, whose Frame brand reportedly was making $200 million a year in sales as of October 2024, allegedly sent to mistresses, including one where a scantily clad blond woman replied wearing lingerie. Other messages included in the lawsuit show him appearing to buy cocaine and MDMA from a drug dealer, as well as arrangements to hire prostitutes.
Torstensson hired sex workers and took drugs while traveling for work in Los Angeles, New York, and London, according to Dame Natalie’s lawyers. One prostitute was allegedly hired by Torstensson just days after the couple celebrated a surrogate being successfully implanted with their embryo.
He is also accused of using Dame Natalie, who was named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth in 2016, to take advantage of her high-profile friends and connections to further his own company.
Another screenshot included in the court documents shows Torstensson messaging Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, asking her and her English soccer icon husband David Beckham to promote his own fashion brand.
“Torstensson had schemed to defraud Massenet out of her hard-earned money and convince her to use her influence and finances to promote and endorse Torstensson publicly and privately under false pretences,” Dame Natalie’s lawsuit alleges.
“While Massenet is emotionally devastated and in shock caused by Torstensson’s outrageous behaviour, this is a case of a return on investment in a man who leveraged Massenet’s capital and brand to build wealth, while she bore the majority of the costs.
“Massenet is demanding what any investor would—a fair, equitable return on the investments she made, value she created, and costs she carried.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Torstensson’s office for comment.
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