Born 6 November 1962, former British model Nadine Caridi is the ex-wife of infamous American stock market mogul Jordan Belfort, who somewhat became a persona non-grata for his shady business, lifestyle and substance abuse. Nadine was married to Belfort for over a decade before they went their separate ways.
Nadine began her career as a model and had considerable success. She became the poster girl of beer brand Miller Lite. In the course of her reign, she featured in various national campaigns that included ads of Monday Night Football. However, it was her relationship with Belfort that brought her to the limelight.
Nadine and Belfort first under what you could call an interesting circumstance. She was introduced to him during one of his customary lavish parties by her then-boyfriend, Alan Wilzig. They soon started a relationship that went on for years before they could get married, as Belfort was also married at the time.
Following Belfort’s divorce from his wife, he got married to Nadine. The couple had two children together in the course of their 14-year marriage. Belfort’s substance abuse and extramarital affairs led to their separation in 2005, after which Nadine married John Macaluso, a former entrepreneur from New York and CEO of Wizard World.
She has remained with him ever since, forming a large family of five children (two from Nadine’s marriage to Belfort and three from John’s previous marriage). Want to know more about Nadine Caridi? Keep reading. We will dive right in after sharing the following ten facts about her.
10 interesting facts about Nadine Caridi
- Renowned as the Duchess of Bay Ridge, Nadine was born in London, England, and holds British and American citizenship. She moved to Brooklyn, New York, with her parents when she was just a kid.
- Nadine had a yacht named after her. As a romantic gesture to his wife, her husband bought a yacht from Coco Chanel and named it Nadine. The yacht eventually sank in the sea near Sardinia’s east coast due to bad weather.
- Nadine started her career as a model. She was the poster girl of Miller Lite beer, and her beauty earned her contracts from television stations. Her modelling career ended after her marriage to Belfort.
- Nadine loves Italian cuisine. She also enjoys reading and watching movies in her spare time. She particularly loves Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock.
- Asides from Jordan being a drug user and philanderer, he also physically assaulted Nadine. This was part of the reasons she decided to leave him.
- Nadine went back to school in the early 2010s. She completed her PhD in Somatic and Depth Psychology in 2015.
- Her failed marriage to Belfort didn’t discourage her. She found love again and married John Macaluso, an ex-CEO of Wizard Global.
- She is an active member of the P.S. I Love You Foundation, which provides enrichment, social and emotional learning programs.
- Nadine is a dog lover. She owns two poodles, and one of them is named Coco. She regularly shares photos of herself and her dogs on her social media.
- Nadine Caridi currently has a net worth of $5 million. She puts her money to good use through her philanthropic work.
Related article: Biography of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son, Christopher Schwarzenegger.
Early life, education and family
Nadine was born on 6 November 1962 in London, United Kingdom. Her parents were very young when she was born. Her mother, Suzanne Caridi, was 19 while her father was 20. Nadine’s parents’ union didn’t last long, and her mother had to raise her and her siblings by herself.
Although she is England-born, no information about her early life in England is available. When she was very young, her parents migrated to the US for better opportunities. As can be deduced from an Instagram post she made, her mother is late.
Upon arrival in the US, the family started living in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York. Nadine spent almost all her childhood and youth in New York. People recognise her as the “Duchess of Bay Ridge,” which Jordan used to call her.
Nadine Caridi had an interest in sports and fashion. She attended John Dewey High School in Southern Brooklyn and pursued her modelling career after then, as college education wasn’t quite her priority. She, however, returned to school in the early 2010s and completed her PhD in Somatic and Depth Psychology in 2015. Caridi also completed her Postdoctoral Training in the NeuroAffective Relational Model.
Nadine has a brother, Anthony Caridi, who loves baseball, and he is a big fan of The Brooklyn Dodgers. He currently owns a pizza restaurant in Brooklyn named AJ’s Brooklyn Pizza Joint. He resides in Vancouver BC, and is married to Morgan Caridi Gill, with two daughters.
As Jordan Belfort wife
Belfort was famous for throwing lavish parties with girls, alcohol and drugs. It was in one of such parties that Nadine first met him. Her then-boyfriend, Alan Wilzig, an American entrepreneur, semi-professional race car driver, restaurateur, and philanthropist, introduced them. Although Belfort was married to Denise Lombardo at the time, it didn’t stop them from getting attracted to each other and starting a relationship.
In 1991, not long after Belfort’s separation from his then-wife, he and Nadine exchanged their vows. Following their wedding, Nadine stopped modelling. She became a full-time housewife who would socialise from time to time. She went on to have two children with Belfort — a daughter, Chandler, and a son, Carter.
Belfort bought a luxury yacht that was originally built in 1961 for famous French fashion designer and businesswoman Coco Chanel, founder of the brand Chanel. He named the Yacht Nadine after his beloved wife. It, unfortunately, sank off the east coast of Sardinia in June 1996.
