Lou Ferrigno has insisted his wife' Carla's welfare is his top "priority" after she accused him of trapping her in an emotionally abusive marriage after her dementia diagnosis. Picture: Reuters
LOU Ferrigno has insisted his wife' Carla's welfare is his top "priority" after she accused him of trapping her in an emotionally abusive marriage after her dementia diagnosis.
The couple have become embroiled in a messy legal spat in recent weeks as Carla Ferrigno, 74, is seeking a divorce from 'The Hulk' star and has accused him of mistreating her in a series of court filings - claiming he cut off her access to their joint finances, isolated her from family members and intimidated her when she accused him of having an affair.
However, the former bodybuilder's attorney Vatche Zetjian told DailyMail.com, the actor is hoping for an amicable resolution to the dispute, saying: "Lou's priority remains his wife's welfare ... Lou and Carla, through counsel, have agreed to mediate and Lou's hope remains that they reach an amicable resolution. Lou requests privacy for all his family members at this time."
Carla previously made a series of allegations against her husband in a signed declaration filed at a court in San Luis Obispo County, California - accusing him of abusing and intimidating her.
She said: "While his infidelity may not be abuse, when I get upset with him about her being around, he physically intimidates me, by getting into my face and using his much larger size - he will remind everyone that he is the Hulk - compared to my slight stature, to scare and control me into submission.
“While towering over me, he yells at me, claiming horrible things about me and making sure that I understand that I am ruining his life and that he will not care for me."
Carla also claims her husband has been frustrated by her health issues after she was diagnosed with dementia. In one of the filings, she added: "His own frustration with that fact [the dementia diagnosis] and my ageing in a way that prevents me from keeping up with him, has led to him being abusive of me in many ways.
"I do not deny that I am not in the same condition as I was when I was younger, but I know what is going on around me, how Lou treats me, and that he is trying to ensure that I am treated as completely incompetent so that he can use our estate and leave me to die. I know that I want a divorce and that Lou is trying to stop that by isolating me from other family members."
Lou previously sued the couple's daughter Shanna, 42, accusing her of "financially exploiting" Carla by taking advantage of her ill health to gain access to her money.
He alleged Shanna - along with Carla's sister Pam Vog - have been turning her against him because she is "easily manipulated and influenced" because of her dementia.
In his court papers - obtained by The Blast - Lou's attorney's claimed: "[Carla] has been isolated from her husband Lou, and has been unduly influenced into villainising Lou and acting hostile towards Lou.
"These emotional and psychological tactics are elder abuse, harmful to Carla, and are probably progressing her already advanced dementia."
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