Secret Deal Ends Kinkade Estate Squabble

The drama is over. And the story may never be told.

The estranged wife and the live-in girlfriend of the late Thomas Kinkade agreed to end their fighting over the dead painter's estate this week, according to the San Jose Mercury News. And the settlement is secret.

Nanette Kinkade was married to Kinkade, 54, for 28 years, but it was Amy Pinto who shared a 7,000 mansion with the "Painter of Light," who died in April due to an overdose of alcohol and Valium.

Kinkade's paintings of bucolic settings and Christian-themed landscapes are extremely valuable, and the women fought over who would have sway over the painter's commercial empire.

As wife, Nanette Kinkade had rights, but Pinto produced "documents" -- barely-legible scribblings purportedly written by Thomas Kinkade, promising her the home and other benefits -- that led into a courtroom.

The pair's attorneys issued the following statement over the secret settlement: "Putting Mr. Kinkade's message of love, spirituality, and optimism at the forefront, the parties are pleased that they have honored Mr. Kinkade by resolving their differences amicably."