Wendy Schmidt declared that she is happy living separate from her billionaire tech exec husband Eric Schmidt — but Page Six can reveal the Google executive chairman has been spending time with concert pianist Cho-San Nguyen.
Nguyen, whose name is actually Chau-Giang Nguyen, was formerly engaged to Oscar-winning TV and movie producer Brian Grazer.
A source told us: “Eric has been seeing Cho-San for quite a few months now, and they have become quite close. They have been spotted on a number of occasions out in SoHo, near her apartment, and dining at Cipriani.”
Eric, worth a reported $6.9 billion, commutes regularly from Silicon Valley to New York. Our source explained: “Eric is busy with work, but has been very supportive to Cho-San with her concert performances, and in helping her set up an upcoming show.”
The Schmidts are still married, despite numerous reports about relationships outside of their marriage. Last summer, Page Six reported Eric was dating attractive New Yorker Lisa Shields, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, whom Schmidt met at a party in the Hamptons. It is believed the pair, who dated for two years, are still in contact, but “things are complicated.”
Nguyen is a former fiancée of Grazer, the producer of “A Beautiful Mind,” “24” and the 2012 Academy Awards, whom she started dating shortly after he split with his wife Gigi Levangie Grazer. Nguyen, who split with Grazer last year, will be performing at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall on Oct. 22.
Wendy, who spends most of her time in Nantucket, addressed rumors about her marriage in an interview this week. “I think it’s nonsense,” she said vaguely. “If we know what is going on in our lives and we are happy, that kind of stuff is part of his being in the public eye.”
She added, “I would feel like a piece of luggage” if she followed Eric around on his Gulfstream instead of creating her own life. “And he wouldn’t want me to feel that way.” Eric didn’t get back to us. A rep for Nguyen declined to comment.