Dutch trainer ‘who had affair’ with Dan Brown
EXCLUSIVE: Revealed: Dan Brown’s glamorous horse-riding mistress with the £277,000 stallion he gave her as a gift that lies at the heart of bitter divorce battle between multi-millionaire author and his ex-wife
- Dressage rider Judith Pietersen is accused of having an affair with Dan Brown
- Relationship contributed to the demise of his 21-year marriage to Blythe Brown
- She is said to have received lavish gifts from the 56-year-old thriller writer
- Dutch trainer lies at the heart of a bitter court battle between him and his ex-wife
By Shekhar Bhatia and James Fielding In Apeldoorn, Netherlands For Mailonline
Published: 05:41 EDT, 2 July 2020 | Updated: 07:50 EDT, 2 July 2020
This is the glamorous Dutch trainer riding a £277,000 prize horse given to her by multi-millionaire author Dan Brown who lies at the heart of a bitter court battle between him and his ex-wife.
Dressage rider Judith Pietersen is accused of having an affair with the Da Vinci Code writer which contributed to the demise of his 21-year marriage to Blythe Brown.
The brunette in her 20s, who met the couple in 2013 when she flew from Holland to the US to train their horses, has been flung into the spotlight by the American couple’s very public legal dispute this week.
Miss Pietersen, described in court papers as the ‘young horse trainer from Holland’ and given the initials JP, was soon identified.
The Frisian horse expert, who lives in Apeldoorn an hour from Amsterdam, is said to have received lavish gifts from the 56-year-old thriller writer who is a huge fan of equestrianism.
Dressage rider Judith Pietersen is accused of having an affair with the Da Vinci Code writer which contributed to the demise of his 21-year marriage. The author shared this photograph of Pietersen to his Facebook page in 2014
The author and his wife Blythe Brown (pictured together at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006), split last year after 21 years with Brown accused of behaving ‘wrongfully and blatantly’ and lying about extramarital affairs
The author’s estranged wife Blythe is pictured next to his alleged mistress on a farm in 2014
Brown is accused by his ex-wife of having donated horses, a two-horse transport truck and a car to Miss Pietersen, and financed her training stable.
He is also said to have paid for renovations to the woman’s apartment in Holland.
One of the gifts is alleged to be the prize-winning horse named LimiTed Edition worth £277,000 ($346,700).
She now lives in a converted barn in the town of Voorst, 60 miles east of Amsterdam, and runs a stables nearby which she visits twice a day.
Today, a white Volvo car was parked on the drive and a small dog barked at visitors from the living room.
The property, which has a thatched roof, is surrounded by plush countryside and is next to a field of corn.
A neighbour said she had only been living there a few months: ‘When I spoke to her she seemed quite nice, told me that she had come down from the north of the Netherlands towards Groningen.’
Miss Pietersen has posted several pictures of the horse on Facebook in which she is competing and also standing proudly next to it with a wide smile on her face.
In one post which was accompanied by a heart emoji, she described the horse as ‘So amazing – my big love Limited Edition… Proud on this fantastic horse, he is really a dream horse!’
In another recent post, she captioned a picture of her riding LimiTED Edition: ‘Working hard preparing for show season, and hoping we can all start competing again soon!’
Miss Pietersen has yet to comment on the claims of a relationship, but her spokesman said: ‘I can imagine that she is shocked by the media attention.’
The affair is said to have begun in 2014 when she was hired to train a horse owned by the Browns.
She stayed at their home while recuperating from shoulder surgery at home and became Brown’s mistress, it is said.
Brown and Miss Pietersen are said to have met again in Friesland when he travelled there as ambassador for a theatre show in Leeuwarden in which she had a role.
She has posted several pictures of the horse on Facebook in which she is competing and also standing proudly next to it with a wide smile on her face
The author is best known for his celebrated novel, The Da Vinci Code. Audrey Tautou and Tom Hanks starred in the 2006 movie adaptation (right)
The Frisian horse expert, who lives in Apeldoorn an hour from Amsterdam, is said to have received lavish gifts from the 56-year-old thriller writer who is a huge fan of equestrianism
In an interview at the time, she said: ‘I knew from a very young age that my life would be all about horses. ‘
Referring to the author’s admiration of horses, she added: ‘I recognize that friendly character of the Friesian horse that Dan Brown has fallen for.
‘A Friesian horse is also loyal, a hard worker, gives much more than you actually ask of him.’
The two ‘liked’ items from each other’s Facebook page and the author posted a picture of her on his webpage in November 2014.
In the explosive lawsuit launched by Mrs Brown, it said: ‘The net effect of these transgressions substantially reduced the marital estate.’
Confronted by his ex-wife earlier this year over the affair Brown is said to have admitted: ‘I’ve done bad things with a lot of people.’
Other affairs reportedly included a hairdresser, Brown’s personal trainer, and a politician on the Caribbean island of Anguilla where the Browns had a holiday home.
Brown is accused by his ex-wife of having donated horses, a two-horse transport truck and a car to Miss Pietersen, and financed her training stable
‘Dan has lived a proverbial life of lies for at least the past six years, seeming to be the epitome of a world-famous novelist leading a simple life in his home state of New Hampshire, while in reality he was something quite different’ her lawsuit claims.
‘For years, Dan has secretly removed substantial funds from his and Blythe’s hard-earned marital assets to conduct sordid extra-marital affairs with women — one half his age — and to pursue a clandestine life.’
The couple split last year after 21 years with Brown accused of behaving ‘wrongfully and blatantly’ and lying about extramarital affairs.
