What Really Happened Between Dodi Fayed And Kelly Fisher?

While Dodi Fayed is perhaps best known for his romantic involvement with Princess Diana during the summer of 1997 that tragically ended with their deaths in a car crash in Paris, what's less well known is that he was previously, and according to some simultaneously, in a relationship with American model Kelly Fisher. Fisher and Fayed first met in Paris in August 1996, and the accounts of what really happened between them after that differ significantly, depending on who you ask. When the relationship between Fayed and Princess Diana went public in August 1997, his family confirmed that Fisher and Fayed did know each other but denied that they were ever engaged.

However, Fisher's perspective was that the two were very much engaged, and Fayed had given her a sapphire and diamond engagement ring that bore a striking resemblance to Princess Diana's engagement ring from Prince Charles. The relationship was serious enough that they'd already planned where they'd live after their wedding — in the book "Diana: The Last Days," author and journalist Martyn Gregory reported that Al-Fayed had purchased a house for Fisher and Fayed in Malibu.  

The tentative wedding date for the couple was reportedly set for August 9, 1997, which happens to be the day before the (in)famous photo of Diana and Fayed kissing and embracing was published in the Sunday Mirror. "I was heartbroken to see the pictures of Diana and Dodi together," Fisher revealed to The Sun some 20 years after the fateful summer of 1997.

Before the kiss heard around the world, in July 1997, Princess Diana brought Princes William and Harry to St. Tropez for a vacation where they spent time together on Dodi Fayed's father's yacht — the Jonikal — and his villa. Fayed was there spending time with Diana, while Kelly Fisher was also in St. Tropez to see Fayed on what she thought was a pre-wedding vacation. But instead of spending time with the entire group, Fisher stayed on a different, smaller yacht that also belonged to the Fayed family, waiting for Fayed to come and see her.

After the photos of Fayed and Princess Diana went public, Fisher hired high-profile lawyer Gloria Allred to represent her in a breach of contract suit against Fayed. In a press conference with Fisher in attendance, wearing the engagement ring that Fayed reportedly gave her, Allred said of Fayed, "he took her love and he gave every indication that they were going to get married and that he would fulfill all of his promises to her. In the end, he betrayed her," via AP Archive.

Her mother also spoke, saying, "No one's daughter deserves to be treated as my daughter was," as Fisher broke down in tears. The basis of the lawsuit centered on Fisher's claim that Fayed had offered her $500,000 to spend time with him and turn down modeling work, and she never received the promised money.

In the 2007 inquest into Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed's deaths, a transcript of a fraught phone conversation between Kelly Fisher and Fayed from mid-August 1997 was made public. Fisher confronted Fayed, saying, "You even flew me down to St. Tropez to sit on a boat while you seduced Diana all day and f***** me all night" (via People). Fayed countered, calling her "hysterical" and saying they'd already broken up. The inquest also saw Fayed's father referring to Fisher as a "gold-digger" and a "hooker" (via Vanity Fair).

Fisher later talked to The Sun about how overwhelming it all was. "You go in the course of three weeks from being engaged to Dodi to being left for the most famous, gorgeous woman in the world, to them all dying," Fisher said. Fisher dropped her lawsuit in the wake of Fayed and Diana's deaths in Paris.

Fans of Netflix's "The Crown" will recognize some of these moments between Fayed and Fisher from the first episodes of Season 6 of "The Crown," since the focus is on Princess Diana in the year after her divorce and her relationship with Fayed. Fisher, played by Erin Richards, is notably seen on the separate yacht during the St. Tropez vacation before, while Fayed, played by Khalid Abdalla, tells her nothing was going on between him and Diana.