Lawyer and 'Strangers' Author Belle Burden Has Well-Connected Parents

Author and Harvard-Educated lawyer Belle Burden seemed to be living an idyllic life with her husband of 20 years, hedge fund executive Henry Davis. Then she received a call that changed everything. Belle and her family were quarantined at their multi-million dollar home in Martha's Vineyard when Belle got a call from someone who claimed that her husband was having an affair, per the New York Times.

The person who called Belle was the husband of the woman with whom Henry was having an affair. Henry, 56, was apparently involved with a 35-year-old woman whom he met at work. The morning after the infidelity was exposed, Henry declared that he was unhappy and wanted a divorce. "I thought I was happy, but I'm not. I thought I wanted our life, but I don't," he told Belle.

Henry said that she could have their homes and the custody of the kids. Then he left without even saying goodbye to their daughters. Belle details the sudden dissolving of their marriage in her new book, Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage.

The news of Belle's book and the drama of how her marriage ended led many to wonder about Belle's family. Here's what we know.

The New York Times called Carter Burden Sr. a "handsome scion of the Vanderbilt dynasty." Belle's mother, Amanda Burden, comes from the Mortimer and Paley families. Belle's grandmother was Babe Paley, "a Truman Capote swan" and "one of midcentury America's most celebrated society figures." According to The Daily Mail, Belle is also a descendant of railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt.

Belle is working on a book about the way her grandmother's life differs from the way she was portrayed in Ryan Murphy's Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, per Town and Country.

In an interview with Katie Couric, Belle acknowledged that the privilege her wealth and family's status gave her access to resources many other women might not have in a divorce. But she added, "What I hope people come to see from my story is that money cannot protect anyone from heartbreak."

Belle told Town and Country that she was worried about what her family, and especially her mom, Amanda, would think of her book. She gave her mom a draft of the book to see what she thought about Belle telling her family's story. She said that her mom called her less than a day later, saying that she had read the book in one go. "She was crying, and she was elated," Belle shared.

"She didn't have a negative thing to say about it, but best of all, she had no vanity, no ego about her own presence in the book," she added. Amanda said, "I cried most of the way through the book, absorbing so many things I didn’t know about my daughter."

Amanda said that reading Belle's book showed her how well her daughter analyzes and wrestles with her emotions. She said, "Belle is the most private person you know," explaining that she usually doesn't get far when she asks about how she's dealing with something. So for Amanda, Belle's book was a rare and vivid insight into her daughter's internal world.