Earlier this week the estranged young wife of an investment banker asked a judge to stop her soon-to-be ex-husband from releasing a couple of sex tapes they made together before and during their 18-month marriage. Lily Shang, 24, claims that banker David Rucker, 26, threatened to post the videos online if she didn't accept a lowball settlement in their divorce. Rucker, who has been paying Shang's living expenses since they split, was quickly labeled "a cad" by the NY Post, but now he adamantly insists that he never tried to blackmail Shang, and he's probably going to sue his wife for defamation.

The allegations are completely false," Rucker told the tabloid. "I have no idea why she would make that up. I went through all our old e-mails, and there's nothing that can be construed as me trying to release a sex tape. It doesn't make sense. I'm just really confused." Shang fired back, "Would anyone admit to blackmail if you asked them on the record? A girl doesn't marry a man without absolutely trusting him—at least most girls don't. Whatever was done between us was when we were married, when there was that trust. No one could imagine that such a thing could be broken."

The Daily News reports that the first sex tape was produced in March 2009, and the couple tied the knot in a civil ceremony in Canada in April 2009. Shang says she's "devastated" by the media attention to her petition, which was filed publicly and separately from her sealed divorce case. She tells the News, "It's very unfortunate that this private family matter has become public." A Shang family "spokesman" says, "She's been removed for rest and consolation to a northern property belonging to her family in Canada. She's recuperating and gathering her thoughts. Lily was living the lifestyle of a Real Housewife of New York. She loved the nightlife and the shopping and the high life. Now she's in crisis."

Who to believe? This much is certain, Shang and Rucker recorded themselves having sex in their swank Battery Park apartment. Twice. And until the sex tapes are released, it's going to be impossible for the court of public opinion to come to a decision. Developing...