George Santo Pietro is a real estate developer and a wealthy restaurateur. Along with a line of restaurants across the United States, Pietro is also known for his history of dating A-listers of Hollywood. In fact, he even married the Wheel of Fortune’s Vanna White for a while. Other than that, his relationship with American actress Linda Evans was also the talk of the town.
Apart from his glamorized romance, he also dealt with a few controversies. One of which primarily began as a result of renting his Beverly Hills mansion to someone who turned out to be a fraud. Well, here we have listed out some of the interesting details about the 75 years old hotelier.
From his childhood to his unsuccessful marital relationship and immense fortune. Here is a comprehensive account of his life so far.
George Santo Pietro Early Life
He was born on December 12th, 1946, in Beverly Hills, California. George spent the major portion of his childhood in Beverly Hills, where he also finished his early education.
The man is so much shrouded in mystery that he rarely ever talked about his parent and if he has any siblings or not.
George Santo Pietro once Married TV Personality Vanna White
While George has had multiple romantic relationships, he tied the knot only one time, to Wheel of Fortune star Vanna White. In fact, it was his wedding with Vanna that got him exposure in the media.
Pietro and White reportedly married in December 1990. The pair announced their marriage in a celebrity-filled ski resort in the same month of December.
As per the reports by the LA Times, George bought a marriage license, which was then a $20-permit, from the Pitkin County Courthouse.
Vanna White and her husband George Santo Pietro Were Present During Carousel of Hope ’98 in Los AngelesWheel of Fortune’s Vanna White, who was also present at the location, provided her driving license for identity verification.
Fun Fact: Deputy County Clerk Kim Schultz who helped the couple fill the forms couldn’t recognize Vanna who appeared there in disguise.
At the time of their wedding, George was 44, whereas his then-wife Vanna was 33.
Well, despite the initial excitement and love they had for each other, the duo got a divorce almost 12 years after their marriage in 2002.
George Santo Pietro Children: His Wife Vanna Miscarried Her First Kid
George welcomed two children with his now ex-wife Vanna White. However, the start was not good for the duo.
Two years into marriage, in 1992, Vanna announced her pregnancy with the first kid via a puzzle on the show, Wheels of Fortune. However, her happiness didn’t stay long. Just a week after she announced her pregnancy, she had a miscarriage and lost her child.
Vanns called the incident a devastating experience. She stated about wanting to be a mother,
I so wanted to be pregnant and have a baby, so then when I finally got pregnant, I wanted to tell the world immediately. Obviously I lost the baby, which was devastating after announcing it. The good news is I was able to get pregnant again and had two beautiful, healthy children. … But losing a child — there’s nothing good about that
After the heartbreaking incident, Vanna became a mother for the first time on June 10, 1994, when she welcomed a son, Nikko Santo Pietro.
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Her second child with George, Gigi Santo Pietro, was born on July 1, 1997.
George Santo Pietro Dated Girlfriend Linda Evans Briefly
Before George married Vanna, he had a short-lived relationship with the American actress Linda Evans. George and Linda began dating in 1980.
The outgoing duo was often spotted together on multiple occasions. In fact, The Big Valley actress even accompanied her boyfriend George during the opening of his restaurant “Santo Pietro’s Pizza” at Santo Pietro’s Pizza in Los Angeles, back on January 21, 1983.
George Santo Pietro With His Girlfriend Linda.Likewise, they were also seen together at Beverly Wilshire Hotel for a charity dinner, “An Evening in Monaco.”
Despite the proximity and bonding, they decided to call it quits and broke up after dating for four years in 1984.
George’s Involvement In a Controversy
Back in 2019, Santo Pietro became a part of a fraud case after a guy he had rented his $47 million Beverly Hills mansion turned out to be a fraud.
As per the police reports, the guy, Keenan Alexander Gracey, who rented George’s mansion, bilked around $6 million from Washington and California residents pretending to be a professional athlete and British financier. The former New Castle resident Gracey reportedly rented Pietro’s mansion to maintain the lifestyle of a billionaire British heir.
Well, the problem for Pietro didn’t begin until the police came to know he had been renting his mansion even after knowing Gracey had been in the police investigation.
Also, on July 7 of 2018, Santo Pietro wrote an email to Gracey with “Your Sec Issues” as a subject line. To some extent, this depicted his concern that Gracey’s money could be out of fraud.
However, in reply to the mail, Gracey wrote that he needed his mansion to raise funds from the investors.
Despite the knowledge of Gracey’s fraudulent money, George rented the mansion until Gracey was evicted on Oct. 1, 2018.
Though this got George into a bit of trouble, Federal officials have refused to make any comment on whether the authority will charge Santo Pietro or not. The concerned department is yet to make any further decisions on the case.
Did George Santo Pietro Get Married To Melissa Mascari?
While there is a widespread belief that George is married to a woman named Melissa Mascari, facts seem otherwise. The rumor first started when a woman named Melissa Mascari had written on her Facebook, ‘married George Santo Pietro.’ Although technically she is really married to a guy named George, the man is coincidentally someone else with the same name as George Santo Pietro.
Unlike the “restaurateur George” this George is into filmmaking and direction. The two also have a daughter together.
Melissa Mascari Along With Her Husband And ChildrenThe family shares a beautiful relationship. Melissa’s George’s Facebook profile states La Famiglia è Tutto, which means a family is everything.