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Wife of ‘The Incredible Hulk’ star Lou Ferrigno has filed for divorce, accusing him of flaunting a mistress and trapping her in an abusive, controlling marriage after she was diagnosed with dementia , DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
Ferrigno’s wife, Carla, 74, made disturbing statements in recent court filings in San Luis Obispo County, Calif., as she opposed his attempt to establish an ordered guardianship by the court to control its affairs.
It comes after Ferrigno, 71, claimed in court that Carla suffered from “advanced dementia” and accused their own daughter, Shanna, 42, of “elder abuse” for trying to drive Carla to the bank to withdraw $500,000.
In response, Carla now accuses Ferrigno, her husband of 43 years, of secretly cutting off her access to their shared finances and keeping her physically isolated to prevent her from divorcing.
In a signed statement, she also alleges that Ferrigno is having a brazen affair with a mistress named Lisa, “with whom he spends most of his time, traveling to his various appearances and exposing himself in front of me even when he is at home “.
Lou Ferrigno is seen with his wife Carla and their children Lou Jr and Shanna in 2020. Carla has filed for divorce and is fighting back against Lou’s claims that his daughter is responsible for “elder abuse”.
Ferrigno was a bodybuilding rival of Arnold Schwarzenegger before becoming an actor best known for The Incredible Hulk
“Even though his infidelity may not be abuse, when I get angry with him because of his presence, he physically intimidates me, getting in my face and using his much larger size – he will remind everyone that he is the Hulk – compared to my small stature, to scare me and control me into submission,” Carla said.
“While dominating me, he yells at me, claiming horrible things about me and making sure I understand that I’m ruining his life and that he won’t care about me.” She.
Ferrigno was a bodybuilding rival of Arnold Schwarzenegger before becoming an actor best known for The Hulk – and their competition was the subject of the 1977 documentary Pumping Iron.
Ferrigno’s attorney, Vatche Zetjian, responded in a statement to DailyMail.com, saying: “Lou’s priority remains the well-being of his wife. All restraining orders recently reported in the press have been suspended by mutual agreement between the parties.
“Lou and Carla, through an attorney, have agreed to mediate and Lou remains hopeful that they will reach an amicable resolution. Lou requests privacy from all members of his family at this time .
Although Carla confirms in the documents that she has been diagnosed with dementia, her doctor and lawyer say that she has consistently expressed her desire to divorce for years and that she has the capacity to understand this decision.
“Lou decided to hatch what can only be described as a Machiavellian plan to attempt to trap Carla into marriage so that he could keep all of the assets that Carla and Lou have accumulated throughout their 43 years of marriage. marriage,” Carla’s lawyers wrote in a filing.
These assets include the $2.9 million mansion the couple purchased in 2019 in Arroyo Grande, California.
California’s community property law generally requires that all property earned during a marriage, or purchased with that income, be divided equally in the event of divorce.
Text messages between Lou and Shanna, including in the filings, purport to show Lou lamenting that Carla wanted a divorce more than a year ago.
In several posts, Lou shares her concern that a divorce would mean the loss of their mansion, writing “She can take away my house” and “she wants to take away my beautiful house.”
Carla’s lawyers alleged that Ferrigno kept her “trapped” in their marriage because he feared losing the $2.9 million mansion they purchased in 2019.
Text messages between Lou and Shanna, including in the filings, purport to show Lou lamenting that Carla wanted a divorce more than a year ago.
This comes after Ferrigno, 71, accused their own daughter, Shanna, 42 (above), of “elder abuse” for trying to drive Carla to the bank to withdraw $500,000.
According to court documents reviewed by DailyMail.com, Carla met with her lawyers Gary Hunt and Alex Newsum on September 8 to file for divorce.
“Without disclosing any attorney-client communication, I can state that Carla has expressed a clear desire to divorce her husband, Lou Ferrigno, and to hire our office to pursue this action,” Newsum said in a signed statement.
Newsum said he then called Carla’s neurologist for the past three years, Dr. Robert Price, to consult about her mental state.
According to Newsum, and verified in a letter signed by Price, the doctor said he believed Carla had the capacity to understand and express her desires regarding a divorce, and to take necessary legal action.
Price in her September 13 letter wrote that when they first met in 2020, Carla had “complained bitterly” about her marriage, particularly the recent move to Arroyo Grande and the mansion, which she said was “only inspired by her husband and his needs.” .’
On September 14, Carla’s lawyers filed a petition for divorce and request for a restraining order, which included a statement describing the alleged abuse and a supporting statement from hired caregiver Kari Shaw.
“Through recent filings and statements through his attorneys, Lou has made it known that I have been diagnosed with dementia, but what he leaves out is that his own frustration with this fact and my aging in a way that makes it difficult for me to keep up with him, has caused him to mistreat me in many ways,” she said in the statement.
“I don’t deny that I’m not in the same state as when I was younger, but I know what’s going on around me, how Lou treats me and that he’s trying to make sure I’m treated as completely incompetent. so he can use our estate and leave me to die,” she continued.
“I know I want a divorce and Lou is trying to stop that by isolating me from other family members,” Carla said.
Lou and Carla Ferrigno are photographed in 1985 in Los Angeles. They married in 1980
Lou Ferrigno was a famous bodybuilder and then actor in the 1970s and 1980s.
Carla also appears to address Lou’s earlier claims that her daughter, Shanna, tried to trick her into withdrawing $500,000 from her bank account — although the filing doesn’t explicitly say she’s describing the same incident.
In a request for a restraining order, Lou claimed Shanna, a fitness trainer, and her aunt, Carla’s sister Pam Voge, were trying to siphon off Carla’s assets and accused them of “financially exploiting” Carla.
Carla said in her statement: “I thought I had access to certain joint accounts and credit cards, but I recently went to the bank to access them, and Lou had used estate planning documents to limit my access and he was informed of my attempt. I came to the bank and made sure that I could not access our money under any circumstances.
The statement contains disturbing allegations that Lou severely restricts Carla’s movements inside the mansion by locking interior doors, thereby limiting her to her bedroom and the kitchen.
She alleges he failed to make the home safer for her declining mental state by installing traction on the stairs or a fence around the pool.
She claims her bed smells like dog urine, because her 17-year-old dog had trouble going down the stairs to go outside, and Lou refuses to steam clean the carpet.
“Lou exercised and continues to exercise total control over me through physical intimidation, psychological abuse, restricting my movements within our own home, denying me access to our property and, “I’m most concerned about trying to make sure I don’t have access to my family, including our own children,” Carla said.
She alleged that Lou’s request for a restraining order against Shanna was an attempt to cut her off from family who could help her.
“While for a long time Lou was willing to allow me to be cared for by our daughter and sister, as well as hired caregivers, now that they are calling him out on his abuse, he is taking steps to limit my contact with them, said Carla.
Carla told the court she would like her daughter Shanna to manage her affairs, or her son Lou Jr.