Italian high society in shock as millionaire banker throws ultra exclusive engagement party at Turin villa – only to make accusations against fiancée in his speech

• Millionaire banker Massimo Segre accused his fiancee of cheating in front of distinguished guests
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Italian high society has been left reeling after the wedding of a millionaire banker in Turin took a dark turn, when the groom accused his bride of cheating in a speech at the engagement party causing a huge public spat between the pair. 

Massimo Segre, 64, gathered guests at his mansion in Turin, to celebrate his upcoming nuptials to Cristina Seymandi, 47.

But instead of the usual loving speech you may expect to hear about a bride-to-be, Massimo instead accused his future wife of cheating, to the shock of Torinese high society.

Over a lavish banquet, he said: ‘I want to give Cristina the freedom to love,’

‘Specifically, to love another person; a notable lawyer, who she clearly cares about more than me’.

‘Dear Cristina, I know how much you are in love with him mentally and sexually,’ he added.

‘And I know that before him you had a relationship with an industrialist acquaintance.’

Stunned, Cristina looks around the room of some 150 guests for support as her fiancé shares painful photos of his partner with another man.

‘Don’t think it pleases me to look like a cuckold in front of all of you,’ Massimo  admits to his friends, devastated by his partner’s alleged betrayal as the event goes silent. 

‘Cristina is so good at telling her truths, that I couldn’t leave her alone to narrate the reason why I’m ending [our] life together tonight.

‘It’s a banal story of infidelity, even premarital. I am so disappointed,’ he says. ‘I am heartbroken.’ 

Massimo was seen reading a prepared speech in Turin about his wife’s alleged infidelities

A moment of shock as Cristina  looks around, accused of having an affair with a lawyer

He then wishes her well, before telling her to go to Mykonos with her lover, as it is already paid for.

As soon as the speech finished, the lights dimmed and Massimo left the stage.

Italian media reported that guests were annoyed by being ‘used’ as part of the show. 

Stunned guests stared on in silence unsure what to think.

Since the engagement party, a video taken by one of the guests has gone viral, leading to Cristina to become the subject of death threats.

In a letter to the director of the Zona Bianca TV news programme, Christina said Massimo had committed an act of ‘psychological violence’ and had ‘meticulously planned his revenge’.

She added that she had a valuable sapphire ring given to her by Massimo’s mother to mark their engagement which had ‘mysteriously disappeared’ 15 days before the party.

Speaking to the Times, Cristina’s adviser said she will be taking legal action for ‘reputational damage’ against he former fiance.  

‘She has suffered very serious attacks on social media and threats from Italian citizens. It has been traumatic,’ she said.

Cristina Seymandi, an entrepreneur and politician

Massimo is pictured (right) in a post on Instagram

Her lawyer,  Claudio Strata, added the banker had ‘intentionally humiliated her’.    

‘The letter was read out in front of dozens of people and it was captured in a video that was sent to the newspapers. We don’t think this was improvised.’ 

Massimo categorically denies having published the video, let alone having allowed it to be filmed.

He has since accused Cristina of stealing €700,00 (£598,000) from the couple’s joint account, but she says the money was transferred with his consent before the relationship ended. 

Cristina snapped back after the event in an interview with La Stampa.

She said that the bags for Mykonos ‘were already packed’ and urged onlookers to reserve judgement: ‘Within every family, the dynamics are very complex and difficult to understand from the outside.’

She said at the time she thought: ‘He’s gone crazy’.

‘He was very tired at the time,’ she said.

‘I am sure there’s someone behind him who fanned the flames. In short, manipulated him.’ 

She also noted: ‘The work stands and I can’t afford to lose it.’

‘My professional life requires me to react and remain lucid. I will think about possible protections in civil and criminal matters.’ 

Cristina  summed up: ‘It was a farce, let’s face it. Serious things are resolved another way.’

‘Now I will consider whether to sue him,’ she said.

Viviana Ferrero, former vice president of the Turin city council and friend of Cristina , described the put-down as a ‘sexist lynching’.

She said: ‘Two things hurt me, the end of a beautiful love story and the lynching in which Cristina it’s been going on for days. A sexist, chauvinist, violent, horrendous lynching.

She went on: ‘Dirty laundry is washed in the family and they, even if for a short time, were a very special family. 

‘And they could have been one of the most beautiful couples there were, because they combined so many qualities. 

‘I don’t rejoice when the rich cry.’

Massimo’s mother, Franca Bruna Segre, was also known as a key figure in Italian finance, at the top of Banca Intermobiliare before her son became its financier. 

The 64-year-old is also a director of Directa Sim, a company dealing in online trading, and has involvement in other sectors including health and media.

Complicating matters, Cristina is professionally tied into some of these businesses, listed on LinkedIn as a director of Directa Sim since February.

She also has been named CEO of Savio Thesan Spa, a company she joined by taking over his shares through the recently established Hope SRL. 

Cristina is the daughter of a renowned accountant from Turin and has held roles in politics and business over an eventful career.

Cristina looks on as Massimo accuses her of having an affair with an unnamed lawyer

In 2021, she backed the mayoral campaign of centre-right candidate Paolo Damilano in Turin, who promised to make her deputy if he won.

Damilano lost in the run-off to centre-left candidate Stefano Lo Russo, and as a candidate for councillor Cristina was able to collect only 318 ‘preferences’.

Segre and Cristina met around the time of the pandemic but had their wedding delayed twice as a result.

Finally, the plans had been made and ‘around 200’ guests invited to the lawn overlooking the Mole Antonelliana, a landmark in Turin, to finally announce the date in October.

But what started with general thanks to the audience for coming took a sudden turn when Segre took the chance to out his partner.

Massimo Segre’s speech in full 

‘Tonight, I’d like to gift Cristina the freedom to love. To love a person, a known lawyer, who she clearly cares more for than me, and who I think managed to become obnoxious just to avoid slighting me. 

‘My dear Cristina, I know how in love you are, both mentally and sexually, how did you manage to self-confide? And I know that before him you had a relationship with a well-known industrialist. 

‘My dear friends, don’t believe that this pleases me to be a cuckold in front of you all, but Cristina was so good at telling her truths that I couldn’t leave it to her to tell the narrative of why I will be leaving her tonight. 

‘What did she say to her poor mother? Because the woman became afraid that her daughter was no longer safe to sleep with me. And so what did she say to all of you that drove away the truth? It’s a banal story of infidelity, even premarital.

‘I am very disappointed, heartbroken. I blame myself for not having understood how a woman can’t really love you if a marriage puts you against your own children, with who I have painstakingly tried to recover a relationship that has deteriorated in these three years. 

‘My dear Cristina, go to Mykonos with your lawyer, be happy with him, you know it’s all paid for, like how he paid for the trip to Vietnam with your daughter, a splendid young lady who I am very disappointed to have been involved in this situation. 

‘I confirm, if you want, when you return we could evaluate how to continue a professional collaboration, however our story ends today. 

‘I wish you happiness with your new partner and to continue shining in the world that you have done all these years. Sorry to you all and good night.

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