Hasselhoff 'tricked' wife into signing pre-nup

Baywatch star David Hasselhoff was so desperate to protect his £25million fortune that he made his wife sign a pre-nuptial agreement just 30 minutes before they were married.

Pamela Bach was in her wedding dress waiting to walk down the aisle when her husband-to-be thrust a pen and paper into her hands.

Thinking it was a marriage licence, the bit-part actress put her signature on it.

The astonishing events were revealed in new court papers filed in Los Angeles last week as part of one of Hollywood's most notoriously bitter divorces.

Hasselhoff, 54, began proceedings in January to end his 16-year marriage.

The former Knight Rider and Baywatch star, who also earned millions from a singing career in Germany, currently fronts a £1million advertising campaign for British internet company Pipex.

Bach has accused him of being a drunk and of breaking her nose in a fight. And he has retaliated, saying: "The only person who broke my wife's nose was her plastic surgeon."

Hasselhoff first asked her to sign the papers a month before their wedding in 1989, Bach claims in court documents.

But she had not heard of the term 'pre-nuptial agreement' and the meeting with his lawyers ended because she was crying so severely.

It was not until half an hour before she became Mrs Hasselhoff, standing in a backroom of the church, that Bach - apparently unknowingly - signed the agreement.

"I was under the impression that I was being asked to sign my marriage licence," she claims. With wedding guests already seated, Bach, who was about ten weeks pregnant, "felt rushed and compelled to sign the document quickly".

She adds: "I did not realise I was rushing to execute the final version of a signature page which would be attached to a pre-nuptial agreement."

Two weeks ago, the pair's lawyers argued over who should look after the couple's pets. They ruled that £800 of vet bills run up this month should be paid from a joint account.

The couple fought over the custody of their daughters Taylor Ann, 16, and Hayley, 13.

Hasselhoff asked for sole custody, alleging his wife abused prescription drugs. A judge awarded them joint custody.