1D Harry, upper crust chef and a £530 shirt that hinted at romance
WHEN it was claimed pop superstar Harry Styles might have a new love interest, his devastated fans immediately went searching for proof.
And they didn’t have to look far – for they quickly found a photo of his rumoured girlfriend, privately educated chef Tess Ward, in a distinctive red Gucci shirt that the star had been spotted wearing just days before.
Miss Ward, 27 – who went to £23,025a-year d’Overbroeck’s College in Oxfordshire before training at the prestigious cookery school Le Cordon Bleu – and the lothario singer, 23, have not confirmed they are dating since they were photographed in Styles’s car together in London.
But the former One Direction star’s jealous fans saw the fact she appears to be wearing his shirt as a giveaway that he’s off the market.
Miss Ward, who is best known for her cookbook The Naked Diet, which contains healthy ‘clean-eating’ recipes under chapter headings such as Pure, Raw and Detox, wore the £530 silk top to a star- studded brunch hosted by model Suki Waterhouse at London restaurant Sexy Fish, and then to a polo match at Ascot on Sunday – the same day she was seen with Styles in his Audi.
The society polo event was also attended by Prince Harry and his girlfriend Meghan Markle, as well as film stars including Emma Stone and Gemma Arterton.
Miss Ward paired the shirt with a black jacket – just as Styles had done when he wore it while out in London last Wednesday, four days before.
According to friends, the couple met a month ago at Soho Farmhouse, a private members’ club in Oxfordshire, where Miss Ward’s parents, Kate and Christopher, live.
They immediately hit it off, bonding over their mutual love of quirky fashion and food, and have been on several dates, a source told the Sun.
As well as her work as a chef, Miss Ward is also a brand consultant for Grey Goose vodka and upmarket London store Fortnum and Mason, and runs food and lifestyle blog The Yes Chef.
Miss Ward, who lives in Clapham, south London, is on the books of the Models 1 agency but said in an interview she only briefly considered being a model when she was 19.
A source said: ‘She is a really nice girl, at one point she was planning on opening her own restaurant.
‘She loved the party scene and she always went to the polo and the races. I think she was quite bohemian at heart. It is a bit of a leap from what she was doing to dating one of the world’s hottest stars but she was always a great schmoozer.
‘She is very pretty, quirky and cheeky. Boys love her.’
According to friends, she briefly dated designer and Great British Sewing Bee host Patrick Grant, 45, who appeared in a YouTube cooking video with her. Styles has had a string of short relationships, including with Taylor Swift, Caroline Flack and Kendall Jenner.
A representative for Styles refused to comment last night, while Miss Ward was unavailable for comment.