Before Anne Hathaway found her happily-ever-after with her husband Adam Shulman, the “Rachel Getting Married” star was in a serious relationship with Italian real estate developer Raffaello Follieri. According to Vanity Fair, Hathaway met Follieri through a mutual friend in 2004, confessing that “it was totally love at first sight.” It seemed that Follieri was her perfect man, considering that she gushed to Harpers Bazaar, “My boyfriend is incredible in a lot of ways,” adding specifically that, “when it comes to his charity… One of the most untouted aphrodisiacs in the world is charity work.”
However, Hathaway apparently learned the hard way that Follieri wasn’t who she thought he was. In 2008, he was arrested for fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy. Hathaway promptly dumped him, explaining to W magazine, “The rug was pulled out from under me all of a sudden.” She recalled, “As soon as I found out about the arrest, I had to get on a plane to Mexico to do a press tour for ‘Get Smart.’ And then I spent a week in shock at a friend’s house.”
Even after the split and his conviction, Follieri continued to humiliate Hathaway by telling the Daily Mail that she ditched him in his time of need. He claimed, “Annie’s last words were ‘I love you forever’… I was arrested. I never spoke to Annie again.” He added, “She decided saving her career was most important.” In 2019, Follieri told Radar he was considering writing a tell-all, dishing, “I know the public is looking for a more detailed story.”
