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It was a near two-year court battle between an heiress to one of the country’s largest fortunes and one of the most prominent executives in the Canadian culture industry, with allegations of everything from fraud and sexual harassment to shunning their stepchildren and conducting smear campaigns against each other.

And it ended, quietly, in a stalemate.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or 'Nobody wins': McCain heiress ends court battle without annulment — but won't pay $5M to ex-husband Back to video

On Dec. 14, an Ontario judge ordered a divorce between Eleanor McCain, daughter of Wallace McCain, a co-founder of the McCain Foods empire, and Jeff Melanson, the former head of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. McCain did not get the annulment she sought after claiming her estranged husband “tricked her” into marriage, and though Jeff Melanson did win an undisclosed settlement, it wasn’t the $5 million their prenuptial agreement called for.

“Nobody wins in a case like this where there’s so much conflict and media attention,” said Melanson’s lawyer Harold Niman, who added that his client was “pleased” with the settlement. “Peoples’ lives are put on the front pages of newspapers and very personal matters are revealed that most people keep to themselves.”