House of Gucci killer's lonely life now from estranged family to Lady Gaga feud
Superstar Lady Gaga refused to meet with Patrizia Reggiani before playing her in House of Gucci - and it left the 'Black Widow' rather annoyed.
The hit 2021 film, about the family at the heart of the famous fashion label, starred Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, pas Patrizia. The ex-wife, who hired a hitman to kill the heir to the Gucci throne, is still alive some 25 years after her former husband, Maurizio Gucci, was gunned down aged 46.
It was later discovered Patrizia had paid £250,000 - saved from the monthly allowance Maurizio gave her after their divorce - to have him killed. She reportedly once told a housekeeper: "If it's the last thing I do, I want to see him dead." But what happened to Patrizia after she was caught?
Patrizia Reggiani was arrested and jailed for arranging the murder of her ex-husband, Maurizio Gucci, in 1997 (PA)Patrizia was arrested two years after his death in 1997, following an unexpected tip-off to police. Her five-month trial, which she attended dressed head-to-toe in Gucci, caused a sensation. She was dubbed the Black Widow by the Italian press, and the prosecution argued Patrizia desperately wanted control over the Gucci estate.
She also, it was claimed, wanted to prevent her ex-husband from marrying his lover, Paola Franchi. The impending marriage would have cut Patrizia's spousal maintenance in half to just over £600,000 a year - a sum she once famously declared amounted to a 'bowl of lentils'. Patrizia even said in court: "It's better to cry in a Rolls-Royce than be happy on a bicycle."
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Patrizia spent 18 years in prison before she was released in 2016 and reportedly resides in Milan (Ipa/REX/Shutterstock)
She was 'annoyed' that Lady Gaga did not approach her to meet before she played her in House of Gucci (PA Images)Patrizia was found guilty of arranging the murder and sentenced to 29 years in jail, which was cut to 18 on appeal after it was argued she was suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder. She was released in October 2016, but she could have left prison earlier if she had agreed to take part in a work release programme. She dismissed that notion, saying: "I've never worked in my life and I don't intend to start now."
Though it is understood Patrizia took a parole job in 2014 and was employed by Bozart, a costume and jewellery firm. Her role was to advise the design team and read fashion magazines. She reportedly helped to design a collection of rainbow-coloured jewellery and bags inspired by her parrot, Bo.
On her release from prison, Patrizia was asked by a TV crew: "Why did you hire a hitman to kill Maurizio Gucci? Why didn't you shoot him yourself?" She replied: "My eyesight is not so good - I didn't want to miss." In 2016, it was reported that Patrizia lived with her then 89-year-old mother in Milan and was spotted parousing around upscale neighbourhoods on weekends.
It is believed she is now estranged from the two daughters she shared with her husband, Allesandra and Allegra. In 2016, Patrizia told The Guardian: "We are going through a bad time now. They don't understand me and have cut off my financial support. I have nothing, and I haven't even met my two grandsons." She is no longer allowed to use the Gucci surname, but said: "I still feel like a Gucci - in fact, the most Gucci of them all."
Patrizia, now 75, is said to have been pleased Gaga played her but felt irritated that she did not request to meet her before filming. "I am rather annoyed at the fact that Lady Gaga is playing me in the new Ridley Scott film without having had the consideration and sensibility to come and meet me," she told an Italian wire service in 2021.
In response, Gaga explained in an interview with Good Morning America that she did not want to be seen to be endorsing her crime and glamourising the murder. "I didn't want to collude with something that I don't believe in," she explained, adding: "She did have her husband murdered."
- House of Gucci airs on BBC Two at 9pm tonight on Friday, December 22.
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