Wedding joy for reformed It-girl Sophie and her Count
HER BEAUTY has captivated numerous admirers, among them the late Lord Hanson’s elder son, man- a bout- t own Robert Hanson, and former Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Bosnich.
But lasting happiness had seemed destined to elude Sophie Anderton, who was still in her teens when her appearance in a campaign for Gossard bras catapulted her to national attention. Until now, that is.
For I can disclose that, after a two-and-a half year engagement, Sophie, 43, is to marry in February next year — and become a countess into the bargain.
Her husband-to-be is the splendidly named Count Kaz Balinski- Jundzill, who, despite his Polish antecedents, lives in Ireland, close to the Wicklow Mountains. His home, the rambling Glendalough House, has a main wing alone which extends to 7,000 square f eet and sits at the heart of a 1,400-acre estate.
‘We are ecstatically happy,’ says Sophie, who starred in I’m A Celebrity . . . and Celebrity Big Brother.
She explains that she and Kaz, 52, a father of four, have been intending to marry for ‘quite some time’, only for the coronavirus outbreak to sabotage their plans.
‘We feel our life together is moving forwards after the standstill of the past eight months,’ she adds. ‘It will only be a civil wedding in February — a very small affair. But we’ll have a big blessing ceremony in the summer that Kaz’s children can attend and all my family and friends who are all around the world.’
Among the guests will be Ella, Kaz’s daughter by his former wife, modelturned television chef Lorraine Pascale, to whom Kaz was married for five years in the 1990s.
ELLAregularly comes over to see her father, who, says Sophie, has been erroneously described a j azz musician. ‘He did that as a bit of fun when he was very young. He’s actually in the [oil] extraction industry.’
For her part, Sophie — whose life was, for a time, blighted by addiction and bankruptcy — is to be congratulated for having extracted herself from her past so splendidly. ‘The best thing I ever did was get out of London — much as I love London,’ she says. ‘I’ve now got the mountains.’
And the man.