Liza Minnelli Confronts Her Pain After Marriage to David Gest in Emotional New Documentary

Legendary performer Liza Minnelli split from fourth husband David Gest in 2003, but she still has PTSD from his mistreatment of her.

Sources say that the beloved actress and singer, 79, can’t bear to even speak about Gest, a music producer she wed in 2002 in a lavish, celebrity-studded wedding in New York. Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson and Mia Farrow were among the 850 guests.

But the marriage lasted only 16 months, with Gest claiming the Cabaret star was an alcoholic and prone to violence while Gest was described as controlling and manipulative. When they split, Gest sued Liza for $10 million while she filed a countersuit claiming he stole from her.

A new documentary, Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story, reveals just how much Gest, who died of a stroke in 2016 at the age of 62, has continued to be a source of torment for the Arthur actress, even today, more than 20 years after their split.

“They met during a period of time in Liza’s life when she wasn’t doing so well,” Allan Lazare, a dentist who knew the star, commented in the film. “Physically, she’d gained a lot of weight and David romanced her. Nothing was real and basically for a while he took over her life.”

“Her friends say he was mean and unpleasant. In the beginning he charmed her but then he ditched her in the cruelest of ways,” a source tells the National ENQUIRER.

“Their divorce was extremely messy, and even to this day Liza doesn’t like to talk about it and it touches a nerve when brought up,” another source says.

According to Lazare, who passed away last year, Liza returned from touring to find that Gest had removed everything — every picture and every piece of furniture — from the apartment and put it into storage.

Adds the second source, “People closest to her know it was a terrible time in her life when she was trying to get back her possessions and paintings. It still upsets her.”

Despite her numerous health issues including hip and knee replacements, jaw reconstruction and struggles with substance abuse and alcoholism, the pain Gest inflicted was the most hurtful.

“David may be dead, but he left her with a lot of scars,” says the second source.