Dad-to-be Bernie, 89 is having a masked ball
HIS age may be a cause for concern amid the coronavirus pandemic.
But that hasn’t stopped Bernie Ecclestone, 89, enjoying a stroll with his pregnant wife.
The Formula One tycoon stepped out hand-in-hand with Fabiana Flosi, 44, as he prepares to become a father to his first son and fourth child in July.
The couple, who are spending lockdown at their home in Switzerland, visited Hotel Olden in the ski resort of Gstaad.
Mr Ecclestone, who also has five grandchildren, dressed casually in jeans and a jacket while Miss Flosi showed off her bump in an embroidered cardigan. They were both wearing face masks.
He announced the pregnancy last month and joked that now he’s no longer busy with the world of motorsport, he’s had ‘plenty of time to practise’ and he wasn’t ‘sure what all the fuss is about’.
‘I haven’t had a job for a little while so I have had plenty of time to practise,’ he told the Daily Mail.
‘I’m very happy for my wife. She’s been looking forward to this happening for quite a few years, so I’m happy she’ll have someone after I’m gone. It’s fun, I’ve got grandchildren and I’m looking forward to having another baby.’
Mr Ecclestone, who will celebrate his 90th birthday in October, is already a father to three daughters from his previous marriages.
Deborah, 65, was born to his first wife Ivy Bamford and his socialite daughters Tamara, 35, and Petra, 31, were born to his second wife Slavica Radic.
Petra announced last month that she had given birth to her first child with fiance Sam Palmer, 37.
She is already mother to daughter Lavinia, seven, and five-yearold twin sons James and Andrew with ex-husband James Stunt, whom she divorced in 2017.
Tamara – who is married to art mogul Jay Rutland, 38, with whom she has a six-year-old daughter called Sophia – said she was ‘absolutely thrilled’ for her father.