Anne Hathaway Is Free, Follieri Behind Bars after Breakup

Anne Hathaway, The Devil Wears Prada star who is currently filming for Bride Wars (to be released in 2009), seems to have dumped her Italian boyfriend Raffaello Follieri after having been in a relationship with the Italian real estate developer since 2004. And less than a fortnight after they had split, the ex-boyfriend, whose only claim to fame had been his attachment with Anne, was arrested on fraud charges in New York.

Earlier, on June 16, Anne and her co-star Steve Carell were seen at the Los Angeles premiere of the movie Get Smart, where the smiling 25-year-old posed for photographs. Follieri’s absence at the event was conspicuous. Anne’s rep was tight-lipped, but according to a source, the absence had nothing to do with any long-term break-up. The source also added that for a passionate couple like Anne and Follieri, this sort of tiff was not uncommon, and the couple would likely be back together again shortly. Yet it was Britain’s Daily Mail that carried the scoop of the split between Anne and Follieri. And with good reason.

Follieri had been running afoul with the law, and the few months prior to the split between the couple had been pretty hot for the Italian. In April, he got away lightly when the Manhattan District Attorney’s office did not press charges after he’d written a bad check to the tune of $215,000. This was followed by scrutiny by the New York State Attorney General’s office for shady business deals and a controversial non-submission of IRS tax disclosure forms necessary for his charitable foundation. And all the while, pretty Anne had been anxiously watching his reckless exploits, fearful for the repercussions on her own career. According to a source intimate to Anne, it was a painful decision for the actress. And no wonder—walking away from a relationship of four years can be a heartbreaking and devastating step.

But the couple parted ways, rightly so and just in time. For, even as Anne was recovering from associations with the sweet-talking rascal, her rep had to brush angrily past questions about her being an erstwhile director on the board of the Follieri Foundation.

Anne’s foresight in distancing herself from the disreputable Follieri was vindicated when the man found himself in a Manhattan jail, straight from his penthouse on Fifth Avenue, for conning an investor. Follieri had posed as the CFO of the Vatican and pretended to get the investor good deals on property owned by the Catholic Church in the United States. No doubt Anne was wise to bail out when she could, or we’d be left wondering how and why the actress of the two installments of The Princess Diaries was involved with such a man. But now Anne is free and unengaged once again. Happy Hathaway!