NEED TO KNOW
Racquel Chevremont has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against her former fiancée.
According to documents obtained by PEOPLE, The Real Housewives of New York City star is suing ex Mickalene Thomas and her business for $10 million. Chevremont, 53, is accusing the prominent artist of “years of exploitation, nonpayment, and unlawful conduct” throughout their time working together from 2012 until 2022.
PEOPLE has reached out to a rep for Thomas for comment.
The Aug. 8 filing states that Chevremont, “a highly regarded and experienced art curator and consultant,” took on several roles that “contributed immeasurably” to Thomas’ success. Along with acting as her strategic advisor, the reality personality claims she was a liaison to galleries, collectors and institutions and negotiated “multimillion-dollar deals” on Thomas’ behalf.
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Chevremont alleges Thomas did not properly compensate her for her work and “illegally diverted significant funds and business opportunities” from their “jointly-owned entity” into a separate LLC.
Chevremont further claims that Thomas subjected her “to a hostile and abusive work environment as well as quid pro quo harassment.” When they broke up, Chevremont claims she was fired after refusing to get back together.
“While Ms. Chevremont ended their personal relationship in 2020, Ms. Chevremont and Ms. Thomas continued to work together,” per the docs. “During this time, Ms. Thomas repeatedly and improperly pressured Ms. Chevremont to resume their romantic relationship, and ultimately terminated Ms. Chevremont’s employment, in violation of New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws, when she made it clear that this would never happen.”
“The causes of action asserted include breach of contract, unjust enrichment, quantum meruit, conversion, sexual harassment and retaliation,” it concludes.
Chevremont is also asking that Thomas pay interest, her attorneys’ fees and any other costs in addition to the $10 million in damages.
The duo first met in 2002 and became a power couple in the art world.
In 2018, they came out with their collaborative project Deux Femme Noirs, which aimed to create a space for women, people of color and queer people in the arts.
They got engaged in 2019 but called it off the following year.
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Shortly after their split, Chevremont, who is also the mother of two children, started dating her current fiancée Mel, a forensic neuropsychologist.
She opened up about the engagement in an episode of RHONY in October as she showed off her massive ring decorated with “black diamonds, white diamonds and cognac diamonds.”
“We park all the bikes… And then everyone takes photos,” Chevremont recalled of the proposal. “And I didn’t realize that everyone was staying away from us and she stands there … And then suddenly she goes to pull out a ring and I was like, ‘Are you f—— kidding me?’ That was the first thing out of my mouth.”
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