Kirstie: Why I don’t want to marry father of my boys
KIRSTIE AllSopp’S fans have long been bemused by the failure of her boyfriend of 12 years, Ben Andersen, to propose to the wholesome TV presenter.
Now Kirstie has claimed the real reason is that it’s she who doesn’t want to tie the knot. ‘Ben has been married previously and so initially it was he who was reluctant to do it,’ admits the 45-year-old daughter of former Christie’s chairman lord Hindlip. ‘And then I was reluctant to get married because I just think: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” ’
All three of the location, location, location presenter’s siblings have married, with her youngest sister, Natasha, 15 years her junior, tying the knot with former Household Cavalry captain Billy Morley this summer.
‘There does seem to be a gripping fascination with the fact I’m not married to Ben,’ says Kirstie.
‘But how many people aren’t married nowadays? Something like 50 per cent
of children are born out of wedlock. I’ve always said the same thing: there is every likelihood that one day we’ll get married, if only for practical reasons. But we’re very happy as we are.’
The couple live in Notting Hill, West London, with their two sons aged seven and nine. Ben, 54, who built up a property empire said to be worth £20 million after leaving a comprehensive school aged 16, also has two teenage boys who live with them half the time.
Their house is next to that of Four Weddings And A Funeral creator Richard Curtis, who has also not wed his longterm girlfriend, Emma Freud. ‘We don’t feel the need to marry, for which I partly blame our neighbours, who have never done it either,’ Kirstie said in July.
‘It’s the only unconventional thing in my otherwise very conventional life.’
Kirstie’s other sister, Sofie, 36, wed writer Robert Fletcher in 2009, while her brother, art dealer Henry, 43, tied the knot with Google executive Naomi Gummer, daughter of Tory peer Lord Chadlington, in 2012.
Henry’s big day was attended by his godmother the Duchess of Cornwall and the Camerons.