Not Mrs. Singer

In 1861, sewing machine impresario Isaac Singer jumped bail and fled to London with his youngest and prettiest mistress to avoid going to trial for battery of his common-law wife Mary Ann Sponsler. In 1862, he returns unexpectedly to New York and Mary Ann seizes the opportunity to file for divorce. Under New York law, she must prove A) she was married and B) that Isaac committed adultery. Her lawyer warns that neither will be easy, and Isaac will play dirty.

Mary Ann, assisted by her friend Natalie Gompertz, begins organizing witnesses for court. In a series of flashbacks, we learn how Mary Ann and Isaac first came together as young actors, and even launched their own theatre company, the failure of which led to the first episode of domestic violence. We also learn how Isaac had an original family in New York which he never told Mary Ann about, and how he earned money in machine repair shops, which eventually led to his invention of the world’s first practical sewing machine.

The overnight success of Isaac’s machine brought the couple enormous wealth. But while Isaac enjoyed the limelight and the opportunity to embark on a string of affairs, Mary Ann found herself socially ostracised by stuffy New York society. In preparing for the court case, Mary Ann must interview some of the women her husband didn’t just sleep with, but bought houses for and in some cases had children with (he's fathered 20 at the time of the case). It’s painful and humiliating for her. Worse, her lawyer warns that because these women had similar status to Mary Ann in Isaac’s life, and because they were aware of each other and tolerated it, proving a common-law marriage between Isaac and Mary Ann may be impossible, precluding a divorce.

A few years previously, Isaac’s business partner had forced him to divorce his first wife, Catherine, to avoid accusations of bigamy. When Mary Ann visits her to gather testimony, she begins to suspect that Isaac may have other families who were unaware of his behaviour. Mary Ann and Natalie follow Isaac and discover a family who Isaac has kept secret. They go to the lawyer and demand that he file divorce papers. He warns that Mary Ann will lose the case, but she insists on going ahead.

When the case comes to trial, the witnesses paint a bleak picture of Isaac and his violence toward Mary Ann. They tell of adultery and bigamy. But the judge sides with the defense – no matter how awful Isaac’s indiscretions, he was not legally married and there can be no divorce. Mary Ann then produces her secret witness. She’d kept her secret so that Isaac couldn’t pay her off. The witness tells the sordid truth and the judge reverses his decision, awarding Mary Ann an $8.5m payment, at that point the largest divorce settlement in history.

In a poignant coda, Mary Ann visits Isaac in his hotel, and agrees to waive the payment in lieu of a small alimony and all of her children with him being reinstated in his will, to protect them in perpetuity.

Based on a true story.