Turkish media tycoon divorced from socialite amid rumors of cheating with Netflix star
ISTANBUL
Turkish media tycoon Acun Ilıcalı has divorced his socialite wife amid rumors of cheating, including one linked to a popular actor who will soon star in the first Turkish series on Netflix.
Ilıcalı, 49, had married 28-year-old Şeyma Subaşı in Marseille last year, soon after he met her while she was still at university. He had later persuaded her to join the Turkish version of the TV contest Deal or No Deal.
The couple were divorced in Istanbul on Nov. 26, hitting headlines in national media. According to reports, Ilıcalı will pay Subaşı 125,000 Turkish Liras each month as alimony.
The divorce came amid rumors that the couple have been cheating each other with other famous names.
“But without the dark we’d never see the stars.” Subaşı wrote on her popular Instagram account earlier this month, stoking new rumors, as the phrase was inscribed as a tattoo on the chest of Çağatay Ulusoy, a popular TV series actor.
“My friendship with Çağatay Ulusoy is well known by my close circle. It is very ugly to try to pull this friendship toward different directions,” Subaşı said in an Instagram post late Nov. 26 while denying the rumors.
The actor also denied claims, describing them as "ugly, inappropriate, baseless slanders."
Ilıcalı, who was also rumored to have an extramarital relationship with the daughter of a former model, blasted rumors, stressing that he divorced Subaşı because they "could not maintain their marriage despite all their efforts."
Ilıcalı, a sports journalist-turned media entrepreneur, owns a television channel and holds broadcasting rights of popular shows in several countries where he is based a leading producer. He was described in an April article by Bloomberg as “a self-described risk junkie who has quickly emerged as a global force in reality television.”
Subaşı, now a popular social media influencer, had failed to qualify at Miss Turkey beauty contest in 2008 soon after she won 60,000 Turkish Liras at Ilıcalı’s Deal or No Deal.
The first Turkish series on Netflix titled “The Protector” was announced last year. Starring Ulusoy, the 10-episode super hero fantasy follows the epic adventure of Hakan, a young shopkeeper whose modern world gets turned upside down when he learns he is connected to a secret, ancient order, tasked with protecting Istanbul.
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