In 2011, about a decade into the relationship, Baptiste says she discovered she was infected with several “high-risk strains” of HPV, the human papillomavirus, which can lead to cervical cancer. She says Goguen gave her the virus; Goguen says he has never been diagnosed with HPV.
Over the years, Goguen says he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Baptiste to cover her general living expenses. In her suit, Baptiste says Goguen told her to set up two entities -- Je Ne Se Que Enterprises LLC and a charitable organization called Every Girl Counts -- so he could keep the payments secret and write off the money as donations.
As time passed, Goguen says, Baptiste became increasingly frustrated that he spent so little time with her and remained married. As she entered her 30s, according to the complaint, Baptiste said she wanted to have children with him. But Goguen didn’t leave his wife then and had more children. “Eventually, Ms. Baptiste concluded that if she could not have Mr. Goguen’s heart, at least she could have his money,” according to the lawsuit.
In 2014, Baptiste sent Goguen a draft complaint through a lawyer alleging years of physical and emotional abuse. The two eventually signed a settlement agreement in May of that year. Goguen agreed to pay her $40 million in four equal payments, saying in his complaint that he did so to prevent Baptiste’s “ruinous lies from being publicly exposed.” In exchange, Baptiste agreed not to proceed with the personal injury lawsuit and to keep the settlement private. Both sides also agreed to cease all communication.
But the texts and e-mails continued. Baptiste says Goguen threatened to hire someone to follow her wherever she went to make sure she never spoke of his abuse and demanded she relocate to another state or country. For his part, Goguen claims Baptiste sent him more than 2,000 messages, in which she threatened to expose their relationship and his alleged acts to his children. He says she also vowed to send him to prison if he didn’t accelerate the payment schedule. Goguen stopped paying.
In her complaint, Baptiste is asking the court to enforce the $40 million settlement plus legal costs and damages. Goguen is seeking return of the $10 million payment, damages and a restraining order against Baptiste.
The case is Baptiste v. Goguen, CIV537691, Superior Court of California, San Mateo County (San Mateo).