Businessman puts divorce deal on web to stop 'rumour mill'

A millionaire businessman branded "greedy, tight, ruthless" after he left his wife and four children has attempted to silence his critics by publishing his divorce settlement on the internet.

Gary Dean, 47, an advertising executive, said that gossip and backbiting forced him to divulge details of his £3.7m settlement with his wife, Helen.

The couple, who lived in the village of St Michaels on the affluent Fylde coast in Lancashire, had been married 19 years. They divorced last year but gossips among the "chattering classes" in the area had since blackened his name, he claimed.

Mr Dean said it was the sort of place where everyone knew everyone else's business – or thought they did – and could not help talking about it. So Mr Dean set up the website, "The Truth About Helen Louise Dean vs Gary Dean", to set the record straight.

On the site, Mr Dean states, "Over the course of the past year, I have been subject to gossip about my divorce, some of it just silly tittle-tattle, and some of it malicious. Much of this is circulated and perpetuated by people who haven't got a bloody clue of what the truth is.

"They are just making wild guesses, or making it up, or are misinformed, or are making false claims irrespective of whether such claims have any basis in truth. It's a bad case of Chinese whispers.

"I have been painted in some quarters as a greedy, tight, ruthless bastard who abandoned my wife and children, walking off with millions and leaving my family almost destitute.

"It's simply not true at all and I've decided that, instead of allowing the rumour mill to continue churning out nonsense, I'd just set out the actual facts to stop it."

The settlement was decided at Preston High Court in July 2007. Mr Dean paid a lump sum of £719,000 plus £15,000 per child per year until the age of 17 years or the completion of full-time education. He also has to pay all private school fees.

His wife also kept all her jewellery, diamonds and watches, a Mercedes E500, an Audi Convertible 3.0, plus two private number plates 7HD and 10HD.

Mr Dean added: "I take no joy in setting this all out here. I'd rather it be unnecessary but if it stops the gossip, the sneering looks and the seriously defamatory comments being made about me it will have been worth it." Mr Dean, who also owns a publishing company, set up his own firm 16 years ago and admits success changed him over the years; he "likes the high life" – but his wife had no interest in money, and devoted herself to looking after the children.

The businessman, who now lives with another partner, said that he had had no reaction yet after the details went on the internet last Friday.