James Ecclestone’s new fiancée looks a bit familiar
... as she moves her new boyfriend in
After branding your ex’s father an “evil dwarf”, you’d probably want to lay low for a while. But that’s not James Stunt’s style.
The ex-husband of heiress Petra Ecclestone was pictured out at the weekend with his new girlfriend Samantha Rowley, who bears a striking resemblance to Petra. And the pair sparked engagement and even marriage rumours, as both were sporting rings on their wedding fingers.
Samantha, a model and former Hollyoaks actress, wore a huge sapphire ring – believed to be worth £1.5million. Coincidentally (or not), the pictures came at the same time it was reported Petra was moving her boyfriend Sam Palmer into her LA mansion.
James, 35, and Petra ended their six-year marriage last autumn, but James hit the headlines recently for an enraged outburst in which he trashed the Ecclestone family. The billionaire business tycoon blasted his former in-laws, referring to them as “a mixture of the Kardashians and the Mansons”, and referring to Petra as “this girl who’s had a lobotomy and gone to Jonestown”. Petra’s father, Formula One mogul Bernie, calmly retaliated to James’ comments, claiming that his supposed personality change was down to a drug habit, saying, “He got heavily into drugs and they have taken their toll.”
Petra and James married in Italy in a £12 million ceremony and went on to have three children together – daughter Lavinia, five, and three-year-old twins James Jr and Andrew. After being together for 11 years – and married for six – they began a £5.5billion divorce battle in June 2017, finalising their split in October.
During the divorce proceedings, the court granted Petra, 29, permission to move her three children to LA with her, and new man Sam is now said to be living there with them full-time.
In a recent interview, Petra confirmed her romance with the vintage-car salesman, saying, “It’s very early dating. The whole thing is quite strange because
my life didn’t pan out the way I expected it to. I thought I wasn’t the type who believed in divorce. I go to church and I got married thinking I would be with that person for the rest of my life. But things happen for a reason and, whatever that reason is, I’ve got my three kids.”
James, meanwhile – clearly keen to show he’s moved on even further – larked about in front of paps with his new girlfriend/fiancée/wife. While he handed out handfuls of cash to beggars, Samantha – who has appeared on reality shows including Trust Me I’m A Holiday Rep and Make Me A Supermodel – made sure her ring was noticed.
It hasn’t yet been confirmed if the pair have officially married, but James certainly looked happy to show her off.
While he once complained that he’d ruined his public image by marrying “a C-list celebrity’s daughter”, we guess he’s now just moved on to marrying the C-lister directly… ■