Sharen Jester Turney, the married millionaire CEO of Victoria’s Secret, has a sexy secret of her own: a torrid affair that lasted two years, Page Six has exclusively learned.
Cliff Donenfeld — a luxury real estate broker in Naples, Fla. — says he met Turney, one of the world’s highest-paid female execs, at a party in about 2008. After they began a secret romance, he says she promised him a life together as well as a multimillion-dollar house they could share.
“I was instrumental in every aspect of her life for two years. I was her sounding board, personally and professionally,” claims Donenfeld, 50, who added he met Turney at a private party and then went to dinner with her again the next night.
Soon after, “Sharen said if I ended any other romantic entanglements, we could see each other every two weeks.” He broke up with his girlfriend, and he and Turney began meeting in New York, Florida and Columbus, Ohio, where the lingerie line’s based. “[Sexually] I opened a door for her that was closed,” he claims of the lingerie mogul.
Donenfeld says Turney, 56, was even planning to leave her husband of more than two decades for him, and Donenfeld made an appointment for her to see a New York divorce lawyer, but, “She wanted to wait till after the holidays [at the time] to let her husband [Charles] know.”
“We wanted to have a child,” said Donenfeld, who’s planning a tell-all titled, “Side Guys.” “She said we could adopt.” He added Turney promised him a home in Naples’ Port Royal community, and she socialized in Florida as his girlfriend.
Donenfeld never got the house, but he said Turney did give him a Cartier watch. By 2010, “the relationship started to dissipate,” but they remained friends.
Just weeks ago, Donenfeld says, he asked Turney if she’d serve as a reference for him to make a jump to the fashion world. She refused, and, “[I was] very hurt and disappointed . . . I never got any credit I deserved for what I did for her.”
A rep for Victoria’s Secret’s parent, Limited Brands, said the company does not discuss employees’ personal lives. Turney did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment.