The 37-year-old woman, who has not been named, also worked as a presenter on breakfast television in her home country, is a keen rally driver and was once engaged to a Jordanian prince, according to the Austria Press Agency.
The 57-year-old Canadian businessman told the court in Salzburg, western Austria, where the woman lives, that he first “booked” her for a week-long holiday in the Caribbean in 2011.
Telling him that she had breast cancer and was in debt from the funeral of her disabled daughter, the man gave her ever larger sums of money which she spent on a beauty salon that went bankrupt and an Audi TT sports car.
The woman admitted lying but accused him of violent behavior.
“He wanted me to move to Canada and marry him, but I didn’t want to,” she told the court. “I have pressed charges against him for attempted murder, sexual abuse and assault.”