LIZ & DAMIAN: BFFS FOREVER
Some might say she puts the mother in smother Will they ever get to see each other?
Clipped vowels, icy-blue eyes and a model pout – there’s no denying Damian Hurley’s parentage. Last week, Elizabeth Hurley and her son posed for a lavish photo shoot and gave their first-ever joint interview, in which they chatted about their unbreakable bond. And, according to insiders, Liz, 53, has come to depend on the 16 year old as the only man she can trust – and is riddled with fear about the day she has to let him go.
“Liz and Damian have always been close, and he’s her only child, so she’s very protective,” says heat ’s source. “They’re inseparable – Liz has leaned on him more and more as he’s got older. She sometimes feels like he’s the only man she can trust. She can talk to him about anything.”
Damian attends boarding school during the week and spends the rest of his time with his adoring mother. In the interview, she said that she’d been “blessed with a child whose personality gels with mine”. She went on to say they split their time between her Kensington flat and country mansion in Herefordshire, watching Netflix and swapping clothes (yes, really). According to Liz, she’s “overindulgent” when he’s home on the weekends, adding, “Given I’m a single mother and he’s an only child, by default we spend a lot of time together, and we are utterly comfortable in each other’s company.”
While Damian’s dad Steve Bing – who denied paternity until a DNA test proved otherwise – has remained out of the picture throughout his life, he counts Liz’s ex-husband Arun Nayar as his father figure. But Arun and Liz divorced in 2011, and her last serious relationship – with cricketer Shane Warne – ended five years ago. Despite admitting in the interview that she has been privately seeing a new man, she said, “I’m always slow to introduce anyone to Damian. Until I know how long they’re going to stick around, there’s no point.” We’re told her son is her number-one guy and she doesn’t want that to change.
“She’s so proud of the young man Damian has become – he’s like her best friend. But she knows there will come a time when he will have to leave and start a life of his own, and she’s dreading that. So now she’s cherishing every moment she has with him. It was the two of them for so long and she can’t bear the thought of losing him.” Thankfully for Liz, it seems the apple of her eye won’t be fleeing the nest too soon: according to Damian, “Friends come and go, but family is forever.”
Hear that, Hugh Grant? You’re disposable, mate.
‘he’s her only child, so she’s very protective’
For long-distance couple Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan, having a successful career means that other aspects of their lives have to take a back seat. And now that Mark has announced he’s the new host of The Bachelor UK – which will be filmed in South Africa – he’s going to be spending even more time away from his wife.
And facing her husband working on a show that features multiple hot, young, single women competing for the affections of a hunky single man, Michelle is said to be dealing with jealousy, too. “Michelle has issued a strict ban for Mark when it comes to making friends with any of the female contestants,” an insider tells heat. “It’s causing a bit of tension between them, which isn’t helped by the fact they’ll be spending more time apart. Mark thinks it’s a ridiculous request and has told Michelle that she’s being paranoid.”
Michelle recently spoke about not being able to visit her husband of three years in LA – where he’s based for his TV reporting role on Extra – for at least the next three months while she films her new comedy Brassic in Manchester. And now with Mark juggling his US job with The Bachelor, their relationship is only set to get more difficult.
“Mark’s going to be in South Africa with all these desperate girls looking for fame and a relationship, so no wonder Michelle’s not happy,” we’re told. “Their friends and family are baffled by some of their choices. They both keep signing up for big jobs that require them to spend loads of time away from each other rather than focusing on their life together. Some people think they’re ignoring important underlying issues in their relationship.
“It’s shaping up to be another testing time for them.” ■ KATIE HOLLOWAY