Ex-wife of the real-life Wolf of Wall Street shares advice on how to break free from a ‘trauma bond’ with a toxic partner – as she opens up about how SHE found the strength to finally leave the famed fraudster
- Nadine Macaluso, 54, was married to Jordan Belfort, 60, from 1991 to 2005
- She shared advice on how others can escape from unhealthy relationships
- She said what helped her leave him was starting her own business
The woman who was married to the real-life Wolf of Wall Street has shared advice on how others can break free from being ‘trapped in a trauma bond’ with a toxic partner – decades after she left the criminal financer.
Nadine Macaluso, 54, who now works as a marriage counselor and family therapist in California, met Jordan Belfort, 60, when she was just 22 years old and working as a model.
The two soon became engulfed in a whirlwind romance, tying the knot in 1991 and welcoming two children together, before they ultimately divorced in 2005 after 14 years of marriage.
After they went their separate ways, Macaluso accused the crook of physical and mental abuse, which she said was fueled by his drug addiction and multiple infidelities.
Now, the model-turned-therapist has shared advice on how others can escape from unhealthy relationships in a series of videos posted to TikTok, and according to the mother-of-two, the thing that helped her the most was ‘having something for herself.’
The woman who was married to the real-life Wolf of Wall Street has shared advice on how others can break free from being ‘trapped in a trauma bond’ with a toxic partner
Nadine Macaluso, 54, who now works as a marriage counselor and family therapist in California , met Jordan Belfort when she was just 22 years old and working as a model
The two soon became engulfed in a whirlwind romance , tying the knot in 1991 and welcoming two children together, before they ultimately divorced in 2005 after 14 years of marriage
She said starting her own business gave her the ‘courage and the confidence to leave.’
‘One of the best things I ever did when I was married was, I started my own business,’ she explained.
‘I actually started a maternity company. I had a website, a store, a catalog. I actually had something that was for myself, something that could help me make money.
After they went their separate ways, Macaluso accused the crook of physical and mental abuse, which she said was fueled by his drug addiction and multiple infidelities. They are seen at their wedding
‘And that’s why always, when I coach women and they want to leave a trauma bond, I always say, “Go back to school, start a business, go learn something. Because you have to be able to make a living on your own.”
‘That will give you the courage and the confidence to leave a trauma bond. It was one of the best things I ever did.’
In a follow-up clip, the therapist said that she ‘hated’ when people would ask her why she stayed with Belfort for so long.
She explained that there’s a ‘trauma symptom’ known as ‘cognitive dissonance,’ which often sees battered women sticking with their abusive partners.
‘It’s like, the guy you’re dating has two sides – he has the good, [loving] side, and then he has the cruel, sadistic side,’ she explained.
‘Those two sides cause mental internal conflict inside of you. Is he a good guy or is he a bad guy?
Now, the model-turned-therapist has shared advice on how others can escape from unhealthy relationships in a series of videos posted to TikTok
According to the mother-of-two, the thing that helped her the most was ‘having something for herself’
‘One of the best things I ever did when I was married was, I started my own business,’ Macaluso (seen with Belfort) explained. ‘That will give you the courage to leave a trauma bond’
‘Wait, I don’t get it – the guy who’s bringing me coffee is also DM’ing an Instagram model when he goes to the bathroom? Do I love him or do I hate him?
In a follow-up clip, the therapist said that she ‘hated’ when people would ask her why she stayed with Belfort for so long
‘You think, “We had a great vacation, we had great makeup sex. But he gaslights and manipulates me and lies to me.”‘
Macaluso added that she thinks the second most important thing to get out of a bad romance is to ‘educate’ yourself.
She concluded: ‘I know you can heal from it. I know this because it happened to me. But guess what? I got out of it and you can too.’
Belfort spent 22 months in prison after it was brought to light that he had scammed more than 1,500 people out of thousands of dollars through an elaborate stockbroker scheme in 1999 – all while he was married to Macaluso.
She previously spoke out about their marriage – which was showcased in the 2013 Margot Robbie and Leonardo DiCaprio led-movie Wolf of Wall Street – in more TikTok videos, explaining that she finally felt safe enough to leave him following his arrest.
She explained that there’s a ‘trauma symptom’ known as ‘cognitive dissonance,’ which often sees battered women sticking with their abusive partners
Belfort spent 22 months in prison after it was brought to light that he had scammed more than 1,500 people out of thousands of dollars through an elaborate stockbroker scheme in 1999
She added that as soon as his financial wrongdoings came to the surface, she no longer wanted the lavish things that he had purchased her.
‘I asked him for a divorce [after the arrest] because I knew I could finally be safe because he had an ankle bracelet,’ she said in an older video.
‘Jordan was all about making money. However, right when he got arrested, I completely understood that it was all blood money.
‘I walked away from my marriage with absolutely nothing. I always joke and I say I just took my kids and my curtains.
‘I gave all the jewelry that I had to the government. We gave up all of our homes, all of our money.
‘And that was the right thing to do. It was fine to walk away with nothing and it feels really good to say that.’
While Macaluso explained some things that happened in the movie were real, she admitted in another TikTok that ‘a lot of it wasn’t exactly true.’
She previously spoke out about their marriage – which was showcased in the 2013 Margot Robbie and Leonardo DiCaprio led-movie Wolf of Wall Street (seen) – in more TikTok videos
She said she finally felt safe enough to leave him following his arrest. She is seen in the movie (left) and in real life (right)
She said she ‘walked away from the marriage with absolutely nothing’ except her ‘kids and curtains’
‘I think if you look at it through [Belfort’s] lens it was really accurate, but if you look at it through my lens, it wasn’t,’ she explained. ‘That makes sense because that was actually how our marriage was.’
The marriage counselor added that it was ‘not fun’ to have a movie ‘made about her life,’ but that she is now ‘ready to share her side of the story.’
‘I’m ready to share my side of the story and the wisdom I’ve learned along the way,’ she stated.
‘I am very ready now to tell my truth on exactly what happened through my experience, my narrative, and my lens as a mother, wife, daughter, daughter-in-law, and most importantly a therapist and educated woman.’
On the video streaming platform, Macaluso also reflected on the ‘many’ red flags that she ‘ignored’ during her relationship with Belfort.
‘In the beginning of my relationship, whenever I would express a need or a desire or value that I wanted to hold a boundary with, he plowed through it,’ she revealed.
‘When I didn’t want to have kids, he was like, “If you don’t have kids I’m not gonna marry you.”
While Macaluso explained some things that happened in the movie were real, she admitted on TikTok that ‘a lot of it wasn’t exactly true.’ Belfort is seen in the movie (left) and real life (right)
The marriage counselor added that it was ‘not fun’ to have a movie ‘made about her life,’ but that she is now ‘ready to share her side of the story.’ She is seen with Belfort
Macaluso has since remarried. She has been with her new husband, John Macaluso (seen), who has three kids from a past relationship, for 22 years now
‘When I wasn’t ready to get married he said to me, “If you’re not gonna marry me I’m not gonna date you.” He would not allow me to hold a boundary.’
After they split, Macaluso accused Belfort of domestic violence, telling DailyMail.com in a 2020 interview, ‘[Belfort] was abusive – emotionally and verbally abusive,’ adding that his drug use ‘ramped up’ his ‘viciousness and cruelty.’
On TikTok, she said he had an ‘extreme temper’ from the start – which she admitted she ‘didn’t know how to deal with.’
‘I grew up with a single mom and I didn’t grow up with a lot of yelling in my home,’ she told her followers.
‘So when he first started to yell at me, I was really shocked and taken aback. I didn’t know how to deal with it.’
Macaluso has since remarried. She has been with her new husband, John Macaluso, who has three kids from a past relationship, for 22 years now.
As for her and Belfort, she said they’re ‘still friends’ and are focused on co-parenting their two kids.
‘We’re both strong personalities, but at the end of the day, we both love our children and he gets along great with my [new] husband,’ she revealed.
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