Lovely actually! How Hugh and Penelope are new best pals because of kids
HUGH Grant has given a rare insight into fatherhood in a candid chat while promoting his mini-series A Very English Scandal in the US. The father of five confessed his life is ‘chaotic’ while speaking at an LA press conference, shortly before revealing he sees fellow A-lister Penelope Cruz at playgroup where their children ‘try to kill each other’.
The 58-year-old Notting Hill star, pictured, who married his long-term girlfriend Anna Eberstein in a lowkey ceremony in Chelsea in May, is famously guarded about his private life – so he no doubt delighted fans with these rare revelations.
Hugh and Anna have been together six years and share three children, including John Mungo, who was born in September 2012, and another child born in December 2015. Hugh’s ex Elizabeth Hurley let slip in March that Hugh had had a third child with Anna, but the birth date and gender are unknown.
As well as his three children with Anna, Hugh also shares two children with ex Tinglan Hong: Tabitha, born in 2011, and Felix, born in 2013. The star also had a 13-year romance with actress and model Hurley, splitting in 2000 but remaining great friends.
While not detailing which of his kids attend the playgroup, he spoke about his chats with Penelope, who is mother to Leo, seven, and Luna, five. He said: ‘We have a chat while our children kill each other. She’s lovely.’
On the idea of his children following him into the world of acting, he joked: ‘It has crossed my mind but thankfully I’ve been to see them in their school plays and they’re utterly talentless, so I don’t think that problem will arise!’
He continued: ‘I have five small children and life is total chaos. I’ve always said yes to writing or directing a project, but part of my problem now is that I just lack time’.
Hugh was well-known for his reluctance to marry after he split from Hurley in 2000 after 13 years together. He told People magazine in 2015: ‘I’m not really a believer in marriage. I’ve seen very few good examples, maybe five, in my life, but I think otherwise it’s a recipe for mutual misery.’
Hugh went from having no children to being a father of four in the space of just four years.
At the time of his daughter Tabitha’s birth in 2011, the actor’s spokesman said: ‘He and the mother [Tinglan Hong] had a fleeting affair, and while this was not planned, Hugh could not be happier or more supportive. He and the mother have discussed everything and are on friendly terms.’
The actor later reunited with Hong, and when she gave birth to their son Felix in 2013, Hugh tweeted: ‘In answer to some journos. Am thrilled my daughter now has a brother. Adore them both to an uncool degree. They have a fab mum.’