Fabrice Morvan, one-half of the former pop duo Milli Vanilli, says he’s broke and doesn’t have the thousands of dollars his estranged wife, Kim Marlowe, wants in their divorce battle.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Morvan, 60, reported having just $3,845 in cash and bank accounts, with no money invested in stocks, bonds or other financial assets.
Secret Wedding?
This is far from a performer who once achieved international fame with Milli Vanilli alongside the late Rob Pilatus. Morvan reported earning $1,846 a month in salary, plus a monthly bonus of $1,500, or approximately $40,000 annually.
His reported monthly expenses, however, are significantly higher, totaling about $9,261.
More than $5,000 of those expenses are reportedly covered by his longtime partner, Tessa van der Steen. Morvan lives with van der Steen and their four children in Amsterdam. The two have been together for 15 years.
Marlowe and Morvan secretly married in 1998. Marlowe filed for divorce in 2024, citing irreconcilable differences.
In court documents, Morvan claims he and Marlowe have lived separately for more than 25 years and that their romantic relationship ended roughly two years after their marriage.
Marlowe is seeking $50,000 in attorneys’ fees and another $25,000 for a forensic accountant to examine Morvan’s finances. Morvan says he does not have the money to cover those requests and reports that his own legal expenses have already reached nearly $14,000.
Morvan has also raised questions about money Marlowe handled during their professional relationship. She served as his manager from 1992 until 2023, and Morvan is seeking an accounting of earnings from projects during that period.
Milli Vanilli’s infamous musical journey erupted in 1990 after it was revealed that Morvan and Pilatus had not sung the vocals on the duo’s hit recordings, leading to the German-based duo’s Grammy Award being revoked.The duo had became international stars with hits including “Girl You Know It’s True” and “Blame It on the Rain,” winning the 1990 Grammy for Best New Artist.
Morvan has previously said he did not own the rights to the music that made Milli Vanilli famous and did not receive royalties from the catalog.
Morvan has continued working in music and his memoir, “You Know It’s True” received a 2026 Grammy nomination for audiobook narration.