Logo text

Their divorce proceedings were stuffed with such shocking and salacious allegations, it made TMZ look like The Journal of Pediatrics. But now David Geffen and his ex-husband, former go-go dancer David Armstrong, have apparently made their peace — or at least enough of it to take a boat ride together.

Sources tell Rambling that the two recently met aboard the Rising Sun, Geffen’s 453-foot yacht — 82 rooms, basketball court, swimming pool — which has been moored since late April in the western Mediterranean. What exactly the two said to each other nobody knows, but given how savagely they had gone after each other in court the past year, it’s hard to imagine it was all hugs and giggles. 

Armstrong, 33, a onetime porn star who sometimes goes by the name Donovan Michaels, accused Geffen, 83, of grooming him, controlling him and pressuring him to use drugs at parties aboard his massive yacht, which has ferried the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Bruce Springsteen, Jeff Bezos and Goldman Sachs chairman Lloyd Blankfein. In his countersuit, an angry Geffen fired back that Armstrong had run up hundreds of thousands of dollars on Geffen’s accounts for clothing and cosmetic procedures — and in the marriage’s final months, a small fortune on male escorts. Both sides emphatically denied the other’s claims. 

In the end, on April 13, some sort of amiable settlement was reached, though a Geffen friend was careful to note that “they are definitely not getting back together.” The exact amount Geffen paid to Armstrong to conclude their 23-month marriage hasn’t been revealed, although estimates range from $15 million to $30 million. While that may seem like a tidy sum, even some of Geffen’s friends joke that it probably wasn’t enough for putting up with the famously demanding billionaire. 

“Geffen got off way too easy,” says one. “He was constantly running around regaling everyone about Donovan’s 9 inches. He should have at least walked away with $10 million an inch.”

***

Also in Rambling Reporter:

Ryan Murphy’s Love Story has given Calvin Klein briefs a bump in sales; Liv and Maddie star Joey Bragg has finally discovered a way to relaunch his career.

This story appeared in the June 10 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Subscribe Sign Up