Now Donna dates playboy pal of Pippa’s brother-in-law
AFTER I revealed last October that the Duchess of Cambridge’s brother, James Middleton, had secretly split up with his long- term girlfriend, the television personality Donna Air, anonymous ‘friends’ of hers insisted they were still a couple.
however, on sunday, Donna, 38, admitted that the couple had indeed parted at the end of last year, even though marshmallow maker James continued to boost her TV career by going to watch her take part in Dancing On Ice.
now, the real reason for Donna’s break- up announcement has emerged: she is enjoying a romance with a Chelsea playboy four years her junior, Ben Carrington.
Intriguingly, Carrington is a close friend of former Made In Chelsea star spencer Matthews, whose brother, James, is married to Middleton’s sister Pippa.
Last December Donna was staying in the swiss ski resort Gstaad with property developer Carrington and other pals.
On saturday, she was seen beaming as she went for lunch with him ( at a Japanese restaurant in London’s Belgravia.
Wearing matching black trainers, the pair were seen strolling arm in arm and whispering into each other’s ears as they enjoyed the winter sunshine.
Carrington, who was dressed in a fashionable puffer jacket and a grey T- shirt, later put his arm around Miss Air who wore a £495 beige coat from The Fold.
While Carrington was educated at £38,550-per-year harrow school, Donna is the daughter of a bus mechanic and a BT receptionist who went to state schools in newcastle upon Tyne.
she became a television star at the age of ten when she was cast in the children’s programme Byker Grove.
Carrington, who used to drive a Ferrari, is the director of a property development company that specialises in luxury new-build homes in South-East London.
Last year, he moved house from Chelsea to an equally swanky area of the capital where he is a close neighbour of David and Victoria Beckham.
When I disclosed Donna’s split from Middleton, a friend told me they had broken up ‘some time’ earlier. They had not been pictured together since Pippa Middleton’s wedding last May.
James Middleton began courting Donna more than four years ago, but it was always a rather unlikely relationship.
Eight years his senior, Donna has a 14-year-old daughter, Freya, with her ex-boyfriend, the casino and wildlife park heir Damian Aspinall.
Middleton enjoyed a privileged upbringing, being educated at £ 36,525- a- year Marlborough College before dropping out of Edinburgh University.
He then launched a cake business with the help of an £11,000 loan from his ‘ black sheep’ uncle, Gary Goldsmith.