Gina Lollobrigida says her former toyboy lover meant 'zero' to her amid legal battle

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Javier Rigau Rafols is 34 years younger than 88-year-old Miss Lollobrigida
Actress claims the Spaniard married her by proxy without her knowledge
They met in Monte Carlo in the 1980s and had a 20-year relationship
But she said outside court that this meant 'zero' to her and that he was 'never very affectionate'

Published: 04:41 EST, 18 September 2015 | Updated: 10:20 EST, 18 September 2015

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Italian screen legend Gina Lollobrigida (left) has said her former toyboy lover Javier Rigau Rafols (right) meant 'zero' to her

Italian screen legend Gina Lollobrigida has said her former toyboy lover meant 'zero' to her as they begin a legal battle over their 'sham' marriage.

The 88-year-old, once described as ‘the most beautiful woman in the world’ claims 54-year-old Javier Rigau Rafols conned her into marriage in an attempt to inherit her £35million estate.

Miss Lollobrigida met the Spanish businessman at a party in Monte Carlo in the 1980s. They were together for more than 20 years and planned to wed in 2006 - however, she says she changed her mind before the ceremony took place.

The actress, who attended a court hearing in Rome yesterday, says he married a 72-year-old woman pretending to be the actress at a ceremony in Barcelona in 2010 without her knowledge in a bid to get his hands on her money.

According to the Daily Telegraph, she said outside court: 'It was never a proper relationship. He was never very affectionate towards me. He kept his distance.'

She added that the 20-year relationship they had meant 'zero' to her.

The actress, who lives in Monte Carlo, claims she only found out about the marriage two years ago by chance when she found online legal documents.

Miss Lollobrigida, who is seeking damages, is due to appear at another hearing in November.

Mr Rigau denies charges of fraud and forgery and insists she have her consent to the wedding ceremony and gave the go ahead for it to be carried out by proxy.

Earlier this year, the actress's lawyer Fabrizio Siggia described her as ‘angry and combative’, reported The Daily Telegraph at the time.

Mr Siggia added: ‘She will definitely be asking for damages. He tricked her into signing a power of attorney document which he claimed was to do with a legal quarrel she was having with a Spanish lawyer.'

One of her many movies: Miss Lollobrigida as Lola in the 1956 film Trapeze (1956), alongside Burt Lancaster as Mike Ribble (left) and Tony Curtis as Tino Orsini (right)

Screen siren: Miss Lollobrigida in a publicity photograph for the 1954 film Woman of Rome, in which she played Adriania (left), and at the Odeon Theatre at Leicester Square in central London in 1955 (right)

Last year Miss Lollobrigida won a bitter legal tussle over her property empire with her only child Andrea Milko Skofic, who claimed she had fallen under the sway of young admirers.

The screen siren, who starred in Fifties films including Trapeze, Woman of Rome and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, now splits her time between a villa in Monte Carlo, a mansion in Rome and another property in Sicily.

Among the other movies she is known for are Beat the Devil, Buona Sera, Mrs Campbell and Fearless Little Soldier - with her most recent appearance in XXL with Gerard Depardieu in 1997.