William Jordan Blackmore is suing Andi Potamkin in excess of $2 million over “fake” nuptials
By
Diane Herbst
May 14, 2019 08:56 PM
At their lavish wedding at a Utah resort, heiress Andi Potamkin and celebrity hairstylist William Jordan Blackmore exchanged rings and said, “I do.” Their friend and yoga instructor, Dana Rizer, officiated and pronounced the couple married during the November 2015 ceremony.
But the wedding was a “sham,” Blackmore, 35, alleges in a federal lawsuit obtained by PEOPLE, since the couple were never legally married — because Andi allegedly told Rizer not to become ordained.
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The lawsuit claims this elaborate ruse was concocted by Andi, 30, and her multi-millionaire car dealer father, Alan Potamkin, 70, who was concerned that Blackmore would not sign a prenuptial agreement (which he ended up signing).
It all came out after Andi told Blackmore in December that she no longer wanted to be together.
“The truth was that Andi never wanted to marry Jordan; she just wanted a lavish wedding experience, a public-relations stunt and the attention that came with it,” according to court papers filed in Brooklyn.
Guests were flown in by private jet and included the actress Elizabeth Olsen, designer Recho Omondi and actress Alexis Nichole Smith, according to the
During the celebratory weekend at the Amangiri resort, there were guided walks, zip-lining and yoga classes; “frequent outfit changes” were encouraged, and a high-end fashion magazine that covered the event described it as “[t]he dreamiest desert wedding you’ve ever seen,” according to court papers.
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Blackmore — a New York City-based hairdresser whose clients he says have included Marc Jacobs, Leighton Meester, Andre Balazs, Elizabeth Olsen, Brian Atwood and Selena Gomez — is suing Andi and her father in excess of $2 million for fraud and seeks to nullify the prenup and have a jury trial, according to court papers.
Blackmore has also filed documents to get the wedding recognized in Utah, according to the lawsuit. And so has Andi, according to a statement emailed to PEOPLE by her lawyer, Jennifer Altman.
“Both parties agree that they had a beautiful destination wedding, that they were very much in love, and that they lived together as husband and wife,” the statement says.
“Indeed, both parties have filed to recognize the marriage in the state of Utah,” Altman adds. “There is a prenuptial agreement signed by both parties that sets forth the terms under which the assets will be distributed upon divorce. While it is unfortunate that the marriage has ended, the failure of a marriage does not justify Mr. Blackmore’s use of the legal process as a manifestation of his disappointment.”
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However, in January, Andi apparently emailed Blackmore a draft separation agreement describing their wedding as a “symbolic ceremony” that “did not constitute a legally binding marriage,” according to court papers.
And since they “were, in fact, never married to each other,” the prenup was never in effect, Andi allegedly wrote, according to the lawsuit.
Blackmore’s attorney, Matthew Coogan, tells PEOPLE in an emailed statement, “Andi and Alan Potamkin’s current change of position is all too convenient an effort to distance themselves from the Machiavellian fraud perpetrated on Jordan Blackmore for over three years.”
“The falsity of their current statement is made explicitly clear by their own words and documents,” Coogan continues. “It is highly unfortunate that the Potamkins are apparently incapable of owning up to their wrongdoing and have forced Mr. Blackmore to pursue legal remedies.”