The Editor,
Mr. Henry Costa’s delayed divorce announcement really sparked our interest in investigating this information further. Mr. Costa is renowned for misconstruing information and defaming the character of others to uplift his dubious reputation and protect his fragile ego.
As concerned women, we were first curious to know more about his ex-wife and the truth behind Mr. Costa’s divorce announcement.
We were simply amazed to know that Mr. Costa was married to Dr. Stefania Forte, a highly educated and financially successful social entrepreneur, educator and humanitarian. Dr. Forte speaks three languages (Italian, English and Spanish) and for the past 8 years she has privately donated funds, buildings (which carries her name), school supplies, vocational programs, and more to students and teachers in Liberia. Against this background we were eager to investigate the alleged divorce process publicized by Mr. Costa. Divorce records are not difficult to access in the United States.
Dr. Forte a resident of Wilmington, Delaware, filed for divorce in October 2017, after a 6-month separation from Mr. Costa. Delaware divorce laws requires 6 months of legal separation before applying for divorce. As per Mr. Costa’s Facebook posts he arrived to Liberia for the presidential/representative campaign in May 2017. It would make sense that Dr. Forte would file for divorce 6 months after Mr. Costa’s departure. The divorce petition was also announced in the newspaper in Delaware between November-December 2017 as required by law. The divorce was granted to Dr. Forte in May 2018 NOT August 2018, as falsely stated by Mr. Costa on Facebook.
We challenge Mr. Costa to show us a divorce decree that shows a divorce date of August 2018 or a divorce decree stating that he was the one who filed for divorce.
Dr. Forte did not file for child support and as stated by Mr. Costa, she is focused on co-parenting amicably with him.
We may never know why Mr. Costa chose to publicize false and delayed information but we feel at peace that we were right! From his first Facebook post, we doubted Mr. Costa’s intentions and the information he provided. What was even more appalling was the yearning he had to play the victim and seek out social media attention and support.
We hope one day to hear in-depth information from Dr. Forte. She has been silent about her private affairs (she shared only once in October 2017 by briefly announcing her divorce and since then we have not heard from her regarding the latter).
All the information shared are easy to access so feel free to verify.
We may not know the actual reasons for the divorce but we know that Mr. Costa in his video, while announcing his run for representative in early 2017 stated that his then wife, Dr. Forte, was the one who encouraged him to pursue his political ambitions. Even during the separation between May and October 2017, Dr. Forte visited Liberia to support Mr. Costa during his political campaign (based on Facebook records the visit occurred in August 2017). We are sure that independently of the dismantling of their marriage Dr. Forte wished to see Mr. Costa succeed.
Many times men in Liberia, especially the ones like Mr. Costa, will use their platform or social media to fabricate stories and to create lies about their Lost Loves, women of substance and integrity, in order to nurse their fragile egos or to just simply defame a woman’s character. Women are the ones who carry the burden of a divorce or separation even if they are not at fault.
Dr. Forte, we admire your courage and they way you showed dignity and poise throughout this divorce process. We follow your foundation’s work on social media and we are proud of your zeal and passion for education and the young people in Liberia. You are a remarkable person which has a valuable and integral space in Liberia.
Mr. Costa, hope you continue the “amicable co-parenting” relationship that you shared with us on social media. You also have a space in Liberia, even if you chose to exploit and defile such opportunity.
Divorce Timeline:
(May 2017-October 2017) Legally separated
October 2017: Divorce filed
November-December 2017: Divorce announced in the newspaper as part of the legal divorce process in Delaware when the spouse’s address is unknown or cannot be reached.
May 2018: Divorce granted
THE DIVORCE WAS NOT GRANTED IN AUGUST 2018 as Mr. COSTA shared falsely on Facebook.
Yours sincerely,
Women in Defense for Women
