"The Wolf Of Wall Street" doesn't hit theaters until December 25, but one ex-wife is opening up about what it was like being married to the real-life "wolf"'s right-hand man.
In a recent article in the New York Post, Nancy Porush gives us a glimpse into her relationship with ex-husband Danny Porush, who is portrayed by Jonah Hill in the film.
"I saw him morph from a nice wholesome guy into showy narcissist whom I hardly recognized anymore," Nancy told the paper of Danny's transition to a stock swindler in the mid-'90s.
Alongside Jordan Belfort, Danny co-founded the Long Island brokerage house Stratton Oakmont and used a “pump and dump” scheme to scam Wall Street investors out of $200 million before both were eventually prosecuted and sent to prison.
Though Nancy said the man she married in 1986 was the kind of guy "whose idea of a good time had once been grilling in the backyard with a beer in his hand," that quickly changed as Danny became more involved in the investing scam and the "frat-house lifestyle" spearheaded by Belfort.
"Danny changed with money; he’d frequently stay out late at night, saying he had a business meeting in the city that he couldn’t get out of. I was a young mom with two babies," Nancy told the paper. "'I’m not stupid or naive -- but I really didn’t know what was going on. I was home watching 'Sesame Street' with our sons."
The con eventually caught up with Belfort and Porush, though. In 1999, after being investigated by the Securities & Exchange Commission, Danny pleaded guilty to security fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to 39 months in prison. (Belfort, too, was convicted of securities fraud and served 22 months in prison before being released in 2006.)
Danny got out of prison in 2004 and now lives in a multi-million dollar mansion in Boca Raton with his current wife, whom he left Nancy for even after she'd stuck by his side throughout his criminal case.
Because Nancy failed to realize her husband was putting assets in her name as part of his defrauding scheme, she considers herself one of his victims.
"There were many victims Danny defrauded -- but I was one of them. And the government validated that. Legally, I too was a victim," Nancy said. "I sold off everything to support my family -- teaching yoga and pilates, selling clothes, skin care, anything to provide for the kids... I got nothing, not even alimony, and I didn’t want anything -- I just wanted out."
Nancy isn't the only one telling the her story in light of the film's upcoming release. In an interview with MotherJones.com, Danny himself talked about seeing his life portrayed on the big screen and took issue with the wild exploits -- sale-room parties with strippers and chimpanzees, threeways -- portrayed in the film, which is based Belfort's memoir.
"Stratton was like a fraternity," Porush told the website. "A lot of goofing around, hazing -- but the worst we ever did was shave somebody's head and then pay 'em ten grand for it."
Related
Before You Go
