Is Martina Navratilova The Coniving Ex? Or Is It Her Former Lover?

martina-navratilova

Like Queen Latifah’s ex-workers are threatening, Martina Navratilova’s ex-lover Toni Layton is threatening to tell all if the tennis great doesn’t cough up an amenable settlement. The only difference? Everyone knows Navratilova is a lesbian. But for a celebrity who’s willing to appear on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, just how much “dirty laundry” could Layton have to spill?

“There are a lot of skeletons in Martina’s closet. It is more like a storage facility full of them, and I know them all,” says Layton, who left her husband to take up with Navratilova. For the past year, Layton insists she’s been trying to reach a settlement agreement, but Navratilova’s laywers “publicly discredit Toni and humiliate her.”

Except it’s Layton who’s now out to publicly humiliate Navratilova. While Team Layton scored an item in the New York Post‘s Page Six, it came only after Layton’s public relations firm Global PR fired off a release titled, “What do Linda Hogan And Toni Layton (Martina Navratilova’s Ex) Have In Common?,” which Queerty received.

It reads:

Toni Layton is gearing up to fight for what is rightfully hers in the dissolution of her marriage to former tennis champion, and soon to be ex-wife, Martina Navratilova. The fall out is not going to be pretty. Famed celebrity divorce attorney Raymond Rafool, who represents Linda Hogan in her divorce from Hulk Hogan, has been retained to represent Toni Layton in her case against the tennis champ. Rafool is giving Navratilova the same run for her money that he has given Terry Bollea a.k.a. Hulk Hogan, in his split from Linda. Winning the case is only part of the overall plan. Layton not only has a tell-all book deal on the table, but a TV mini-series which will expose all the dirty details of the famous tennis player’s personal life. “We fight fire with fire,” says Rafool.

After 12 months of attempting to come to an agreement in the split of her 8 year relationship with Navratilova, Layton is ready to speak the truth about her ex-wife and what really was happening behind the scenes during the course of their marriage. Layton has secured image control specialist, Gary Smith of Global PR, to get Martina right where it hurts, in the media. Toni wants to hit Martina back just as hard as the world famous tennis ace returns a punishing serve from her worst rivals. Hulk called Linda the “most formidable opponent” he has encountered in or out of the wrestling ring. “Navratilova is about to get a taste of the same medicine,” states Smith. “When there is a break up between a celeb and a non-celeb, the non-celeb is usually at the mercy of the press. It’s like the celeb side having nuclear weapons and the non-celeb side trying to fight it off with a bee bee gun. We level the playing field where the media is concerned and that is what we will do for Toni Layton. Everyone deserves fair publicity just like they deserve a fair trial.”

“There are a lot of skeletons in Martina’s closet. It is more like a storage facility full of them, and I know them ALL,” says Layton. Martina’s legal team and other cohorts have threatened in an extortionist manner, to publically discredit Toni Layton and humiliate her, and her family, in order to keep the tennis player’s estranged wife from revealing the truth about Martina. “Don’t be so sure about that,” laughs Smith, “Hulk thought the same thing and we not only returned every blow but initiated a few of our own. Navratilova’s team has another thing coming if they think we are going to just lie down and be steamrollered. She may be a champ in tennis, but in the media, don’t count on it.” Rafool and his team expect their client to be subjected to the typical wealthy celebrity accusations of their former partner being a “greedy gold-digger,” because that is what they ALWAYS do when a non-celeb divorces a celeb. It is standard operating procedure in this kind of a case. This is a strategy all celeb lawyers use to leverage the pressure the media places on the non-celeb. The public degradation that happens in the media essentially humiliates and bullies the non-celeb, who in most cases has zero idea how to counter it, into agreeing to a settlement far below what is equitable. This case is no different. Martina was successful with this technique in previous break up with Judy Nelson. Layton was offered a measly flat $200k for eight long years of 24/7 work and support for the enrichment and betterment of multi millionaire athlete, Martina Navratilova. “The offer was an insult. Navratilova is using Florida’s failure to recognize gay marriage to her advantage. We are standing up for gay rights in this case. Toni Layton has the right to obtain a fair settlement the same as if she were the spouse in a traditional marriage,” states attorney Raymond Rafool.

But can someone explain what, uh, marriage law attorney Raymond Rafool is using to argue his case? Common law marriage? Because last we checked, Florida State does not recognize same-sex marriage. Rafool tells Page Six it’s Navratilova who’s using Florida’s laws to her advantage (uh, yeah), while his client is “standing up for gay rights in this case.” Suuuurely Ms. Layton would find another avenue for her gay advocacy were it not for the pending legal matter before her.

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