http://www6.comcast.net/entertainment/articles/eonline/2008/03/19/5ba3480f-5943-40c4-9e25-f6f238ac40b7/



Heather Mills Branded a Liar


In her fight to get her hands on Paul McCartney's money, Heather Mills made a series of "exaggerated" claims, according to the judge in the case.

The onetime Dancing with the Stars contestant sought close to $250 million of her ex's fortune, claiming expenses that didn't hold up under scrutiny. (She was ultimately awarded $48.6 million.)

For example, Mills claimed to need $60,000 annually to cover her equestrian needs and $80,000 to pay for her wine consumption. However, the judge noted that she no longer rides horse, nor drinks alcohol.

Mills also claimed that she was making as much as $500,000 a week before her marriage to McCartney from such pursuits as modeling, delivering lectures and writing.

She accused McCartney of stifling her career during their marriage, claiming that he forced her to turn down lucrative offers from the United States, including a stint guest-hosting Larry King Live.

However, an investigation of her finances showed that she was making as little as $84,000 a year before marrying McCartney, leading the judge to call her an "inconsistent and inaccurate" witness.

The judge also dismissed Mills' claim that her current earning potential is "zero," pointing out that she made $220,000 during her run on Dancing with the Stars last year.

Mills' other projected expenses laid out in her case against McCartney included a yearly clothing budget of $250,000 and $1.08 million for security.

The former Beatle has spoken out against his ex's need for 24-hour protection, pointing out that he has always lived without security staffers with the exception of the time he spent married to Mills.

Since the couple split, he has returned to living more modestlya way of life he also wants 4-year-old Beatrice, his daughter with Millsto experience.

"It is not healthy for a child to have security 24/7. It sets them apart from their peers and makes them an object of curiosity and, at times, ridicule," McCartney wrote in his court documents.

"Such children live in gilded cages. I do not want this for Beatrice. She needs as normal an upbringing as possible, and surrounding her with round-the-clock security is not the way to achieve this."

Mills, a self-proclaimed activist, also claimed she would need $1.25 million a year to give to charities, but admitted she would be using $985,000 of that amount for traveling to appearances via helicopters and private jets.

After presiding over the case, Judge Hugh Bennetts opined in his ruling that Mills was her "own worst enemy. She has an explosive and volatile character."

McCartney, on the other hand, he deemed "accurate and honest," adding that the musician behaved appropriately throughout the proceedings.

"In my judgement, Mills's attitudeis that she is entitled for the indefinite future, if not for the whole of her life, to live at the same 'rate' as McCartney and be kept in the style to which she perceives she was accustomed during the marriage," Bennett wrote.

"Although she strongly denied it her case boils down to the syndrome of 'me, too' or 'if he has it, I want it too.'"

Though he awarded Mills close to $50 millionalmost $34,000 for each day she was married to McCartneyBennett made it clear that he did not approve of her actions.

"In light of McCartney's generosity towards herI find Mills's behavior distinctly distasteful," he wrote.

With the judgment behind her, Mills has already landed a new jobserving as a judge at the Miss USA Pageant in Las Vegas on April 11.

We're guessing Sir Paul won't be tuning in.