The best way to move on after bumping into an ex
There are many categories of socially awkward encounter. There’s the party guest who recognises you and knows everything about your life, while you have no clue who they are and are forced to nod politely with a glazed expression as they chunter on. There’s the exchange on the communal staircase with the upstairs neighbour you’ve heard in noisy flagrante the night before. And at the top of the list is the cringeworthy moment you bump into your ex.
Kylie Minogue handled it with grace when she found herself at the same event as her ex-boyfriend, the Spanish model Andrés Velencoso, this week. She chatted and smiled and placed an affectionate hand on his arm, and the whole episode passed without incident.
Not everyone is so cool under pressure. I remember a few years ago interviewing a starlet about her burgeoning career in America. She was successful, smart and funny, and yet she confided to me that every morning she thought about what clothes she wanted to wear just in case she ran into her ex.
I can only advise her to take a leaf out of Kylie’s book: it was recently revealed she’s dating Paul Solomons, British GQ’S creative director, who is seven years her junior. That seems a far better way to move on than worrying about outfits. The best revenge, as they say, is living well.