This is the woman at the center of Real Housewives of New York star Jules Wainstein's split from her husband Michael.

Just days after 44-year-old Michael Wainstein filed for divorce, these exclusive pictures, obtained by Daily Mail Online, show him hand in hand with the 'good friend' whom Jules has accused of 'blindsiding' her with the affair - Elyse Bensusan.

Earlier this week Daily Mail Online revealed that Michael finally filed divorce papers against Jules on July 15.

Now these photographs confirm the truth of the relationship that Michael has repeatedly sought to deny in the face of wife Jules's suspicion and a particularly nasty divorce that has seen both parties accuse the other of physical assault and last month saw police called to their West Village home.

Real Housewives of New York's Jules Wainstein's estranged husband Michael Wainstein was seen holding hands and shopping with his love interest, Elyse Bensusan, in New York on Wednesday

Michael hit Jules with divorce papers last week after the couple struggled through months of hostility

Wainstein and Bensusan were seen holding hands and they went to the Home Goods store in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan

The couple picked up a mirror, padded seating, and other goods at the Home Goods store

It is not clear when the affair began, though a friend of Jules has claimed that the two were texting back in January and a family source close to Elyse has told Daily Mail Online that Michael met psychologist Elyse when the RHONY stars visited one of the clubs owned by Elyse's husband, Tsion Bensusan.

Thirty-nine-year-old Tsion is the owner of Manhattan's The Blue Note, BB King's Blues Club & Grill and The Highline Room.

Elyse's estranged husband is Tsion Bensusan (right, with AEG's Adam Lublin in May), who owns Manhattan's The Blue Note, BB King's Blues Club

He and Elyse married in a lavish ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in September 2010.

According to the source, 36-year-old mother of two daughters, Elyse, was separated from Tsion at the time she and Michael met.

Yet in recent weeks Tsion has been seen coming and going from the Upper East Side apartment the couple continue to share.

On the days these pictures were taken Tsion left the family home around 11am.

Elyse emerged several hours later and walked around the block to where Michael was waiting to pick her up in his black SUV.

Relaxed and at ease in each other's company Elyse smoked a cigarette as Michael, a principal at Private Capital Group, drove them uptown where they parked up before heading into a Home Goods store.

A couple of hours later they returned to the car, with Michael carrying a large mirror and Elyse carrying bags of soft furnishings. Store assistants helped load outdoors seating into the back of the SUV.

They then drove further uptown to a townhouse, believed to be the couple's future love nest, undergoing renovations where they spoke with workmen as they unloaded their purchases.

They were touching each other throughout with Elyse constantly linking her arm through Michael's or holding his hand.

Bensusan was still wearing her wedding ring as she shopped with Wainstein - she married Tsion Bensusan in 2010

It is not clear when Michael and Elyse's affair started, though a friend of Jules has claimed that the two were texting back in January

A source close to Elyse told Daily Mail Online the couple met when the RHONY stars visited a clubs owned by Elyse's husband, Tsion Bensusan

During their time together, Elyse constantly linked her arm through Michael's or held his hand

Michael, a principal at Private Capital Group, often meets Elyse around the block from her apartment when they get together

Wainstein helped load the vehicle after the couple's shopping trip. He carried a mirror with a large tan frame to the SUV

On another occasion earlier this month Daily Mail Online witnessed Tsion leave the family home mid-morning with the eldest of his two daughters.

Approximately 15 minutes later Elyse left, carrying the couple's younger child.

She walked toward Central Park where Michael was waiting for her on the street. The couple kissed briefly, smiling broadly before walking off in opposite directions.

Evidently at pains not to be seen together publicly Elyse and Michael entered the park from different sides and both spoke on their phones while Elyse watched her daughter play and Michael sat discretely on a nearby bench.

Fans of RHONY have witnessed the deterioration of the Wainsteins's relationship play out on screen.

In an episode filmed back in January, Jules was seen voicing her suspicions about Michael's behavior after he returned home late for a double date night and still insisted on taking a shower before spending all evening on his phone.

Jules complained to friend and co-star Dorinda Medley about how little her husband of eight years helped with their children Rio, three, and Jagger, five.

Bensusan watched as who appear to be Home Goods employees help load the black SUV with the couple's purchases

Bensusan wore a patterned dress, a green shirt and striped wedges as the couple shopped. She also carried a large tote bag

Wainstein was also dressed casually for the errands, wearing a button-down shirt, a blazer, jeans and loafers

After running errands on the Upper West Side, the couple went to a residential address together in Harlem

When the couple first met for the day, Bensusan climbed into Wainstein's car and lit a cigarette

Two men helped Wainstein and Bensusan unload padded seating from the back of Wainstein's SUV after the couple drove to a new location

She claimed that he put the children to bed in their school uniform, expected her to tend to their every demand and on one occasion did not change his daughter's diaper, leaving it 'full' until her mother got home.

'Even if we're on a date night, he's on the phone - who the f*** is he talking to?' she asked, with Dorinda's boyfriend John Mahdessian dubbing him 'phone boy', because of it.

But while Jules has clearly implied that his affair lies at the heart of their split, Elyse's family insist that is not the case.

A family member who asked not to be named told Daily Mail Online: 'The truth is that Jules was having difficulties with this man way before it had anything to do with Elyse.'

Certainly days after Jules first addressed the break-up in a recent blog post, describing it as 'just a big bump in the road', Michael, who is a head smaller than his wife, accused the reality star of physically abusing him.

According to his attorney Mark Jay Heller: 'In the winter of 2012, Julianne brutally and viciously assaulted her diminutive but brave husband.'

Jules and Michael met up to care for their children in New York City in June, amidst abuse allegations

Court papers filed by Michael Wainstein on June 15 say the couple's split is a contested divorce

According to official documents obtained by Daily Mail Online, Michael's divorce petition was filed in New York Court on July 15 after rumors and talk of their separation and impending divorce. The couple have been married eight years and have two children

Tsion and Elyse Bensusan (pictured) married in a lavish ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria in September 2010, though it is believed they are currently separated

Elyse's relative said: 'I don't want to say anything that will hurt either one of them because Jules needs help. She needs to get it together and find out what went wrong with her marriage before dragging other people into this.

'It's really easy to blame someone else instead of looking in the mirror and handling your own business.'

They added: 'Jules and Elyse were never "good friends". Elyse is a very smart person. She's a member of Mensa.

'She's got her own business. She's a psychologist. She has a life unlike Jules who just seems to want to be in the spotlight.

'She's not of the same caliber as Jules. She's a very smart girl. I'd pit her against Jules any day.'

Court records show that a divorce hearing has been set for September 8, when a judge will hear both sides petition for 'pendente lite support' - temporary support during the divorce, with Jules requesting monthly support from Michael.

When approached by Daily Mail Online Elyse attempted to brush off the affair and said: 'This whole thing is nonsense. It makes me sad really…it's just silly.'

Her husband Tsion declined to comment.

Daily Mail Online has reached out to Jules but not yet heard back. Her family declined to comment, describing the situation as 'not a happy one' and 'private'.

Michael and Jules have been married for eight years. They have two children - son Jagger and daughter Rio (pictured right with Jules)

Michael's attorney has claimed that 'in the winter of 2012, Julianne brutally and viciously assaulted her diminutive but brave husband'

Jules (front center) captured a photo 'I get by with a little help from my friends' last month, in which she posed with makeup artist Brian Dean (front right), Morgan Shara (front left), Brenna Praeger (back center), Nicholas Lamirata (back right) and hair stylist Michael Braun (back left)