Leon Crouch is heralded for the role he played as Southampton chairman helping them to stave off liquidation following the club’s administration in 2008
A cleaner that had a baby with the former chairman of Southampton has won part of his £18million fortune.
Barbara Jadrych, 39, entered into a relationship with Leon Crouch in 2011, while she was working for him.
The two then had a daughter and lived together in his Hampshire mansion worth £8.5million until his death in 2019.
Mr Crouch was due to marry Ms Jadrych, but died of cancer just three weeks before the ceremony was set to take place.
According to the Sun, Barbara issued a High Court writ saying that her late husband had promised to look after her financially following his death.
That was contested based on a will drawn up in 2016, saying she should have been added as a discretionary beneficiary.
A source told the Sun that Barbara’s daughter had to take a test to prove Crouch was the daughter’s dad.
While the settlement hasn’t been disclosed, court papers say that she was owed “reasonable financial provision” which could run into the millions.
Mr Crouch was heralded as one of the saviours of Southampton, helping to bring the club back from the brink during their financial woes in 2007.
A year before that, he paid more than £1.6m to buy a significant stake in the club, becoming chairman the following year.
He is credited with keeping Southampton afloat during those years, dipping into his own pocket to pay wages after they went into administration in 2009.
After deciding a statue of Saints legend Ted Bates was unsuitable he also spent around £500,000 to rebuild it in a more befitting manner.
Crouch was also a famed philanthropist and raised thousands of pounds for numerous causes with his home town mayor describing him as a “local hero” following his death.
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