New York Heiress Belle Burden Claims Ex Denied Child a Bedroom Post-Divorce

Filmogaz.com reports that Belle Burden, a New York heiress, has shared new details about her split from Henry Davis. She revealed the personal toll on their three children. The youngest child wanted a bedroom in her father’s new apartment.

Background and the split

Burden married Davis in 1999. The couple separated after 20 years together.

The couple were quarantining on Martha’s Vineyard in March 2020. Burden said she learned then that Davis had an affair and told her he wanted a divorce.

Children and living arrangements

The family has three children. Two older children were less immediately affected.

The oldest stayed with friends and the middle child attended boarding school. The youngest was 12 at the time.

Burden said Davis moved into a two-bedroom apartment. He converted the spare room into a home office instead of a bedroom for their daughter.

Parenting after the split

Burden said Davis remained in contact with the children. He attended big moments, including their son’s surgery.

She said he declined to handle day-to-day parenting tasks. He told her a “switch went off,” according to Burden.

Custody negotiations

Burden said she proposed a 50/50 custody agreement. She expected Davis would seek equal parenting time.

Instead, she wrote he returned the document stripped of most of his time. His changes reportedly left only a weekly Thursday dinner.

Burden believes he thought he was being selfless. He argued the children could choose when to see him.

Memoir and public response

Burden recounted these events in her book Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage. She also discussed them on the Lipstick on the Rim podcast with Molly Sims and Emese Gormley.

She previously published an essay in The New York Times. Davis reportedly signed off on that earlier piece.

Burden said Davis told her he felt something had “broken” inside him. She added he later acknowledged he did not come off well in her account.

Family background and current dynamics

Burden is the daughter of Carter Burden and urban planner Amanda Burden. Carter Burden is a descendant of the Vanderbilt family.

Burden said the children are protective and affectionate toward their father. They now tailor contact to activities he finds comfortable, such as attending games.

She described the hardest legacy as the domestic void for her youngest. Burden tells her child the absence is not their fault.