Linda Evangelista supports the accusers of Gérald Marie

Ex-model Linda Evangelista, in 2004. -

As she began her career in Paris in the mid-1980s, Linda Evangelista married the one who was her agent at the time: Gérald Marie.

Last month,

revealed that the former boss of Elite Europe was the subject of a rape complaint.

In the process, the Paris prosecutor's office announced the opening of an investigation.

On Friday, the ex-

came out of her silence and gave her support to the women who accuse her ex-husband: "Hearing them, and based on my own experiences, I believe they are telling the truth", Linda Evangelista tells the

.

The British daily also collected the testimony of three new accusers.

One of them, the presenter and psychologist Wendy Walsh, aged 58, claims to have been raped by Gerald Marie in 1980, when he was at the Paris Planning agency.

Lawyer Anne-Claire Le Jeune, who represents the first four women to file a complaint against Gérald Marie, told

had since been contacted by several other former models.

At the end of September, Gérald Marie's lawyer told AFP that his client “absolutely formally contested the facts”.

An accusation of "rape of a minor"

It was the British journalist Lisa Brinkworth who was the first to file a complaint for "sexual assault" against Gerald Marie.

While doing an

report

for the BBC in 1998, she claims the French agent sat on top of her and faked a sexual act as she struggled.

The complaint is accompanied by a report for "rape of a minor, rape and sexual assault" by the ex-models Carré Otis-Sutton, Jill Dodd and Ebba Karlsson.

Carré Otis-Sutton claims to have been raped by Gérald Marie when she was 17, at the Parisian home of the French agent, while Linda Evangelista was traveling.

The latter assures the

: “During my relationship with Gerald Marie, I knew nothing about these allegations against him, so I was not able to help these women.

"

Justice

Who is Gérald Marie, the former boss of Elite Europe accused of rape by former models?

Justice

Gérald Marie, the former boss of the Elite modeling agency, targeted by rape accusations

• MeToo

• Rape

• Justice

• Mannequin