Society heiress Flobelle 'Belle' Fairbanks Burden has provided a harrowing account of the day her two-decade marriage abruptly ended, after her husband confessed to an affair with a younger woman and walked out on their family.
The Lockdown Bombshell That Ended a 20-Year Marriage
In March 2020, as the world retreated into the first coronavirus lockdown, Burden, a descendant of railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, relocated with her financier husband Henry Davis and their children to their $4.7 million holiday home on Martha's Vineyard. The 56-year-old lawyer described the initial stability as 'delightful'.
This fragile peace was shattered just six days later. On March 21, 2020, Burden received a chilling voicemail from an unknown man. 'I'm trying to reach Belle,' the message began. 'I'm sorry to tell you this, but your husband is having an affair with my wife.'
Confronted, Davis, 60, admitted to a month-long relationship with a 35-year-old woman he met through work. The next morning, he announced he wanted a divorce, packed a bag, and left for New York City without saying goodbye to their daughters. He allegedly told Burden he wanted to check on his mistress, who had reportedly attempted suicide after the affair was exposed.
The 'Ice-Cold' Moves That Cemented the Split
In the acrimonious months that followed, Davis's actions, described by Burden as possessing a 'consistent lack of empathy', confirmed her worst fears about his detachment from family life. Shortly after the split, the multi-millionaire financier bought a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan.
'I still thought he would want to make a home for his children, that he wouldn't follow through on his decision to have no custody and no overnights,' Burden told the New York Times. That hope evaporated when Davis converted the second bedroom into a home office, leaving no space for his three offspring to stay.
Burden, whose grandmother was famed socialite Babe Paley, claims Davis stopped contacting her altogether after a few weeks and that his siblings, once close to her, ghosted her to support him. He hired a prominent divorce lawyer and relinquished all claims to their New York apartment and the Martha's Vineyard estate, granting Burden sole custody.
A Memoir of Marriage and Sudden Estrangement
The details emerge from Burden's forthcoming memoir, Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, excerpts of which were published in 2023. She recounts how Davis, whom she married in June 1999 after a whirlwind office romance, flipped a switch. From initially claiming the affair 'meant nothing', he soon declared, 'I thought I was happy but I'm not. I feel like a switch has flipped. I'm done.'
To this day, Burden says she does not know why he left or if it was his only affair. 'I don't know why he left. I don't think I ever will,' she writes. She notes that while Davis occasionally sees their children for dinners or tennis, there have been 'no handovers or holidays since the day he left', and she remains the sole, active parent.
The Harvard-educated lawyer was 50 at the time of the separation, an age she notes coincided with Davis reaching a 'pinnacle of professional success'. One of the last things he allegedly told her was, 'You’ll be fine. You’re still young.' Her memoir offers a stark portrait of a seemingly idyllic life dismantled overnight.
