It’s not easy being a Bond girl. Just ask Pam Shriver, the estranged wife of ex-James Bond actor George Lazenby. Shriver, winner of 22 Grand Slam doubles titles, filed for divorce on August 7 citing “irreconcilable differences,” but new information surfacing from inside the case reveals that their issues are far more complex.
In true Bond fashion, the former actor and model was served the divorce papers immediately upon his flight’s arrival in Los Angeles from Australia.
But the only shots being fired here are between the former “007” and his wife.
The news might have come as a surprise to most in the tennis world, but 95 pages of court documents littered with declarations, emails, and third-party accounts reveal that the couple’s problems have been on-going.
Shriver claims that Lazenby was physically and verbally abusive to her and has threatened her life if she were to seek custody of their children.
She cites several occasions, including family functions and a dinner at a restaurant, where her husband’s behavior became hostile. Of these, she notes a June 2007 incident in which he grabbed and bruised her arms and another just two months later when he twisted her right ear. “That was the second and last physical pain my husband caused,” she said of the latter.
But Lazenby defended his actions. “I grabbed her arms to get her attention, and explained that someone needs to be watching our children. I was upset at what I perceived to be a complete lack of concern for our son,” he said of this reaction to finding their son alone while the nanny was in the shower.
Lazenby also refers to his wife as “a very competitive person” whose “actions seem to indicate that she is more interested in winning, and controlling the situation, than what is best for our children.”
But with regard to Lazenby’s behavior towards the children, Shriver expresses that he has “temper outbursts” and has yelled at the children and used physical force when dealing with them, including an incident in which she saw him “angrily throw our son into bed with such force, that our son burst into tears because of fear and perhaps pain.”
Lazenby is also accused of offering his toddlers beer, ice from a glass of scotch, and cough drops and that his “severe anger management issues, alcoholism and poor parenting skills place our children at risk.”
While Lazenby pledges his love and dedication to his children and family in the filed emails and vows to become sober, he is only allowed supervised visits with his children three times per week. A request for a restraining order has also been filed by his wife.
Since the petition for divorce was filed more and more intimate details of the couple’s troubles have continued to circulate in various media outlets around the world, including Melbourne’s Herald Sun and the UK’s Daily Mail, which reference statements from court documents.
The Mail recently released another article referencing Lazenby’s counter accusations that his wife abuses prescription painkillers, sleeping pills, and alcohol.
“I have great concerns about Petitioner's habitual consumption of prescription painkillers, Ambien sleeping pills and rum or vodka each night and during the day,” the Mail quotes Lazenby, 68.
“When I have expressed my grave concern to Petitioner about her combining Ambien with alcohol, she flew into a rage and attempted to justify her addiction by claiming she has debilitating migraines and shoulder pain,” the article continues.
Four former nannies and a family friend have also provided written statements to the Los Angeles Superior Court. Documentation of incidents from the Brentwood Country Club has also been filed.
Shriver, 46, now a television tennis analyst, is seeking sole custody of the couple’s three children. She has been given temporary custody with a hearing set for the morning of August 25, the first day of the US Open.
The pair married in 2002 and has three children, George, Jr. 4, and twins Caitlin and Samuel, 2.