February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Here goes: ?Lord of the Dance? creator Michael Flatley has ended his engagement to his longtime companion, Lisa Murphy. (Hey, I said no shoving!)
The end came not with a bang (oh, get yer mind out of the gutter) but a whisper for the tanned, toned, tow-headed pair. After months apart, they decided to quietly go their separate ways: Michael to his homes in London, France, Las Vegas and Cork, and Lisa back to Tallaght.
The pair have conducted an on-again, off-again relationship since the mid-?90s. In 2002, they made it official, celebrating their engagement with friends, family and handpicked journalists at a lavish party in Monaco. Michael presented Lisa with knuckle-buster of an engagement ring, said to be worth a cool million bucks.
With Michael?s worth estimated at $500 million, the spin has started — on both sides. Inside sources told the Irish Independent that Lisa will walk away with the engagement ring, assorted jewelry, a designer wardrobe, furs, gowns and some swanky motors, including an S-Class Mercedes (the preferred ride of celebs like Andrea Corr and Bono). What?s implied, but not said, is that Lisa will neither seek, nor get, a financial settlement.
The less romantic among you might think that Lisa?s property haul, which totals about $2.5 million, give or take a couple of pairs of Jimmy Choos, is payback for standing by her man in trying times. Lisa never wavered in her support of Michael when a woman he took on a romantic trip to Las Vegas accused him of rape in an extortion bid. Cynics (OK, count me in) were just waiting for the smoke to clear before the two parted. And now, they have.
But Michael?s camp insists that it was just a case of two crazy kids drifting apart.
“Lisa loved the lifestyle, but Michael has to travel and work extremely hard,? said an insider. ?She has gone with him sometimes, but she couldn’t do that all the time . . . the relationship became strained, stifled.?
And it?s no use letting the grass grow under your feet (of flames), is there? Like, nuh-uh.
?If it isn’t working, there is no point in living a lie,? said the source. ?Michael is genuinely very sad about this.? Probably not as sad as Lisa, though, since he gets to keep the lifestyle.