The ex-wife of the real-life Wolf of Wall Street has revealed the clever way that she has repurposed the one thing she had left from her tumultuous relationship with the financial crook.
Nadine Macaluso, 56, who now works as a marriage counselor and family therapist in Florida, met Jordan Belfort, 61, when she was just 22 years old and working as a model.
The two soon became engulfed in a whirlwind romance, tying the knot in 1991 and welcoming two children together - before they ultimately divorced in 2005 after 14 years of marriage.
After they went their separate ways, Nadine accused the broker of physical and mental abuse, which she said was fueled by his rampant drug addiction and multiple infidelities.
The ex-wife of the real-life Wolf of Wall Street has revealed the clever way that she still uses the one thing she has left from her tumultuous relationship with the financial crook
Nadine Macaluso, 56, who now works as a marriage counselor and family therapist in Florida, met Jordan Belfort, 61, when she was just 22 years old and working as a model
The two soon became engulfed in a whirlwind romance, tying the knot in 1991 and welcoming two children together, before they ultimately divorced in 2005 after 14 years of marriage
Now, the mother-of-two has opened up about what she did with the only item that she was left with after she split from the criminal in a recent TikTok video - since she said they had to turn everything else over to the government.
Now, the mother-of-two has opened up about what she did with the only item that she was left with after she split from the criminal in a recent TikTok video
She explained that the only thing she was allowed to keep following the messy divorce was a set of Louis Vuitton suitcases.
But instead of using them when she traveled, she decided to turn them into furniture pieces - which she still has in her house even now, decades on.
'When I left the Wolf, I gave all my personal belongings - my jewelry, homes, etc. - back to the government,' she said in the clip. 'But guess what the government didn't want? My Louis Vuitton luggage.
'But I didn't want it either. Who needs hard luggage? And luggage that doesn't have wheels?'
Nadine explained that she had a knack for 'interior designing,' so she decided to use the luggage for something she felt would be much more useful.
She transformed the designer bags into a set of two chairs and a table, which she proudly showed off in the TikTok video.
'I took an old chair and I reupholstered it with the Louis Vuitton luggage,' she dished, as she turned the camera to reveal the stunning furniture. 'And then I took the old suitcase and put legs on it to make it a table.'
She explained that the only thing she was allowed to keep following the divorce was a set of Louis Vuitton suitcases - since they had to turn everything else over to the government
Instead of using the high-end luggage when she traveled, she decided to turn it into furniture pieces - which she still has in her house even now, decades on
Nadine explained that she has a knack for 'interior designing,' so she decided to use the luggage for something she felt would be more useful, adding, 'Who needs hard luggage?'
'Hello lover,' she joked as she panned back to the chair.
Nadine and Jordan's relationship - as well as his illicit stock market scheme, which saw him steal nearly $200 million from investors - was portrayed in the wildly popular 2013 flick Wolf Of Wall Street, which was based off the book he wrote. The movie starred Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan and Margot Robbie as Nadine, who was renamed Naomi for the movie.
She transformed the designer bags into a set of two chairs and a table, which she proudly showed off in the TikTok video
Jordan went on to spend 22 months in prison after it was brought to light that he had scammed more than 1,500 people through the elaborate stock market con in 1999.
Nadine has become a viral TikTok star in recent months for spilling numerous secrets about their marriage, revealing which scenes of the Martin Scorsese film were accurate and which were exaggerated, and using her experience to give others who may be dealing with unhealthy relationships advice.
In a video shared in November 2022, she spoke about how she was left with practically 'nothing' following her and Jordan's split.
However, she said she was happy to give up her life of luxury since it all came from Jordan's 'blood money.'
'I asked him for a divorce [after the arrest] because I knew I could finally be safe because he had an ankle bracelet,' she said in the video.
'Jordan was all about making money. However, right when he got arrested, I completely understood that it was all blood money.
Their relationship was portrayed in the 2013 flick Wolf of Wall Street, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan and Margot Robbie as Nadine, who was renamed Naomi for the movie
Nadine has become a viral TikTok star for spilling numerous secrets about their marriage and using her experience to give others who may be dealing with unhealthy relationships advice
She spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com about her newfound TikTok fame last month, and admitted that Jordan was not happy with her after he discovered her videos
She insisted that she was not 'using the Wolf engine' to 'disparage him,' but rather, to share her 'side of things' and 'empower women.' She and Jordan are seen during their relationship
'I walked away from my marriage with absolutely nothing. I always joke and I say I just took my kids and my curtains.
'I gave all the jewelry that I had to the government. We gave up all of our homes, all of our money.
The former model recently released a book entitled Run Like Hell: A Therapist's Guide To Recognizing, Escaping, And Healing From Trauma Bonds as a bid to help survivors 'go on to have healthy, positive relationships and lives, armed with knowledge and awareness'
'And that was the right thing to do. It was fine to walk away with nothing and it feels really good to say that.'
Nadine spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com about her newfound TikTok fame last month, and she admitted that Jordan was not happy with her after he discovered that she was discussing their relationship online.
But she insisted that she was not 'using the Wolf engine' to 'disparage him,' but rather, to share her 'side of things' and 'empower women.'
'Initially, he did not like it,' she shared. 'He [still] does not love it but I think he's come to accept it.
'Here's the thing, I'm not doing this at all to disparage him. Why would I do that to my children?
'I'm just expressing my narrative and my side of things. And like I said, at the end of the day, the good news is, we're all okay now.
'I'm really using the Wolf engine to educate women about trauma bonds. And to empower them.'
The former model recently released a book entitled Run Like Hell: A Therapist's Guide To Recognizing, Escaping, And Healing From Trauma Bonds as a bid to help survivors 'go on to have healthy, positive relationships and lives, armed with knowledge and awareness.'
Jordan (left portrayed by Leonardo in the movie and right in real life) spent 22 months in prison after it was revealed he had scammed more than 1,500 people
As for how she found a way to become amicable with Jordan, she told DailyMail.com that she had to make an 'adult choice' to put their children first
'I had a lot of time away from him and a lot of time to heal,' she explained. 'Because we had children together I made a choice, really, as their mother, to keep a good relationship with him'
She has since remarried, and has been with her new husband, John Macaluso, who has three kids from a past relationship, for 23 years.
The author also told DailyMail.com that she was terrified when she found out they were going to make a movie about her and Jordan's romance.
She said she was 'so nervous' about 'how she was going to be portrayed' because she didn't think the director, Scorsese, loved women.
She added: 'We brought them into the world. How I feel towards him is different than how he behaves towards my kids, so as long as he's a good dad [that's what matters]'
'I thought about how he sometimes portrays women,' she explained. 'And I had no say or input.
'That's a very crazy situation to be in - you're going to get portrayed for the whole world to see, but you have no input on how they're gonna do it.'
Nadine added that she did 'a lot of therapy' to prepare herself for it, and ultimately 'surrendered.'
Despite her initial nerves, Nadine recalled feeling relieved when she watched it for the first time.
'It's maybe not exactly the way I would [tell the story], that wasn't my narrative or the way I saw myself through that whole experience, but it was fine,' she added. 'I was totally okay with it. It wasn't that bad.'
As for how she found a way to become amicable with Jordan, she said she had to make an 'adult choice' to put their children first.
'[After the split] I took my kids to California and he was in New York. I had a lot of time away from him and a lot of time to heal,' she explained.
'Because we had children together I made a choice, really, as their mother, to keep a good relationship with him, the best that I could.
'That doesn't mean we've always gotten along, but in the end, we've always put our kids first because we have an obligation to them.
'We brought them into the world. How I feel towards him is different than how he behaves towards my kids, so as long as he's a good dad [that's what matters].'
