Hugh Grant was the dashing leading man, and Elizabeth Hurley was Britain’s glamour girl.
But their love faced the ultimate test when Grant got arrested for improper behaviour
in a parked car in an alley.
Shockingly, it didn’t contribute to them going their separate ways.
Instead, the couple ended up dating for another five years after the shameful incident.
So why did they break up?
Who thinks their intimacy was the problem?
And how were they able to stay the closest through all these years, talking to each other
EVERY DAY?
We’ve got all the details for you in today’s video.
Grant and Hurley were a power couple before it was even a thing.
He was the bigger star at the start of their relationship, having been in Four Weddings
and a Funeral and Sense and Sensibility.
But Hurley — a successful model in her own right — could hold her own, especially on
the red carpet.
She created one of fashion’s memorable moments in 1994 when she wore that black safety-pin
Versace dress to the London premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral.
The couple met on the set of the Spanish film
Rowing with the Wind in 1987 — it was Hurley’s first major acting role.
Grant played Lord Byron in the drama-mystery, and Hurley played his former lover Claire
Clairmont.
The co-stars had fiery chemistry both on and off set, so it didn’t take them long to
go out and start dating.
They were just adorable together, appearing on red carpets everywhere.
It seemed like the pair lived in a fairy tale where people find love and live happily ever
after.
That was 1994, the height of their iconic romance.
Come 1995, and things turned sour.
You know the aphorism/Kelly Clarkson chorus “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”?
Well, Hurley and Grant are pretty much the personification of that sentiment.
In the summer of 1995, the actor was in Hollywood to promote his film, Nine Months.
It was pretty standard romantic comedy stuff.
Unfortunately, he was booked on every talk show going forward.
Why unfortunately?
Well, before he appeared on the shows, he found himself behind bars and now has a mugshot
that will forever haunt him.
Liz and Hugh’s romance faced the ultimate test when the actor was arrested for lewd
conduct after picking up a sex worker, Divine Brown.
Although to this day Hurley has never spoken out, Grant has talked about it in numerous
interviews.
Even recently, the 60-year-old star appeared on a podcast and discussed how he ended up
arrested with Brown after police found them in a car parked near Sunset Boulevard
in LA. Grant claims that he was disappointed in his acting in Nine Months and felt he let
down his co-stars.
He went to see a screening and realized that, quote, “everyone in it was brilliant, but
I was so atrocious that I was not in a good frame of mind.”
The film was about to come out a week or two after that, and Hugh had a bad feeling about
it.
The actor was about to launch his first Hollywood film and the pressure was too high.
Hugh was gravely disappointed in himself.
He didn’t know what was going on.
And one thing led to another…
“I was just an idiot.
I didn’t try to say, ‘I’ve got this psychological problem.’
I just said, ‘I did it.’”
At the time, Grant reportedly paid Brown $60 for her services.
He was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and attend an AIDS education program.
Brown was sentenced to 180 days in prison for performing the lewd act and breaking her
probation.
Grant said in a statement at the time, “Last night, I did something completely insane.
I have hurt people I love and embarrassed people I work with.
For both things, I am more sorry than I can ever possibly say.”
Meanwhile, Divine and her “manager” were selling the story to the British tabloids
for big bucks.
Even in pre-Twitter and Instagram days, the tabloids made sure the story of Hugh’s bust
was front-page, headline stuff.
She later went on to make $1 MILLION from publicity from the scandal, reports say.
Surprisingly, Hurley stood by his side throughout the scandal.
And in 2017, long after they split, she made light of the situation on the TV series she
was starring in at the time, The Royals.
The actor played Queen Helena, the fictional queen of England, set up with a male prostitute
named…wait for it…
Hugh Grant!
Side note: she did not sleep with him, but the joke delighted viewers.
Two weeks after the incident, an unsmiling Elizabeth appeared with a sheepish-looking
Hugh for the premiere of Nine Months.
It was clear the fairy tale was over.
Later that year, Hurley told Barbara Walters: “I felt like I’d been shot.”
While Hurley stood by her man, the dynamics of the relationship had changed.
When her love life came crashing down, Hurley’s career started thriving.
In 1995, she was named spokesperson for cosmetics giant Estée Lauder.
And her acting career seemed to go from strength to strength, with appearances in two Austin
Powers films and Bedazzled in 2000.
Eventually, even this power couple lost the spark in their relationship and went their
separate ways.
Why?
Well, it depends on who you believe.
In 2015 Hugh and Liz appeared separately with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live.
Hugh said that eventually she became like a sister to him, quote, “the sex bit probably
fizzled out, but now she’s my absolute best friend — the number one person I call in
a crisis.”
A month later, Elizabeth appeared on the show and had a different story to tell.
She admitted that the sex was great, but Hugh was rather “annoying” and grumpy in every
other aspect of the relationship.
“He used to really annoy me, actually.
I mean, I love him, but, um, he’s very annoying.
My friends used to call him Grumpelstiltskin ” So, her friends compared the actor to
a grumpy little man from a German fairytale.
That’s... interesting.
Oh yes, she said, he could be charming, but definitely not all the time.
Grant and Hurley never married and never had children together, but they remain the closest
of friends.
Nearly 34 years since the start of their relationship and 21 years since the split, the actors are
still in contact — every day.
“We met on a movie 29 years ago, and he’s still my best friend today, and I still speak
with him every day,” she said back in 2016.
“That was the best co-star I’ve ever had, for sure.”
It helps that they are NEIGHBOURS and are godparents to each other’s children — Grant
is the godfather of Hurley’s son, Damian, and she is godmother to one of his daughters.
There’s no way we’re not going to mention that the cute little boy is now all grown
up and hunky hot.
He is a makeup model, and we can certainly see the familial resemblance.
So, why have Liz and Hugh remained such close friends?
When speaking of their current relationship, Grant compares the bond he shares with Hurley
to one that a brother and sister might experience.
The actor thinks it’s partly because they went from zero to somewhere together, and
they went through terrible years in the beginning when neither of them had any work, living
in a tiny flat.
“It was quite bonding.”
Hurley referred to Grant as her “go-to person” for guidance.
She still goes to him for advice on scripts.
Even though he’s very happily married with five children, and she’s very happy in her
own life, there’s still certain bits they cross over with very well.
The former couple went through so much together.
“But I’ve been thinking, one of the most important things to keep good relations with
your exes is to have a lot of respect for their current life,” Hurley said.
Just this last September, Hurley posted a throwback video of Grant’s iconic dance
in the film Love Actually to wish him well on his 60th birthday (though it was two days
late).
“A belated (because it took me two days to work out how to screen record) Happy 60th
Birthday to the glorious Hugh Grant – a magnificent addition to the human race- even
though he looks like a monkey. ❤️ you forever xxxx,” she captioned her post.
And back in 2018, it was Hurley who confirmed the arrival of Grant’s fifth and youngest
child, a baby girl.
“He had another one last week.
He has five.
He was over 50 when he spawned them all!”
Liz said on WWHL.
“He’s an enchanting dad — really, really sweet.”
Though Grant once told The Washington Post, “I’m pretty selfish and I can’t bear
mess and ugliness and those things seem to come hand in hand with children,” the actor
welcomed his fifth child with TV producer and wife Anna Eberstein . He and Anna also
share a son and a daughter.
In 2011, Grant welcomed his first child with his former girlfriend, Tinglan Hong . What’s
striking is that between the birth of his first and second children with Eberstein,
he reunited with Hong and welcomed his son Felix in 2013.
Oh, wow!
What a life.
Through this decades-long friendship, both were in and out of relationships.
Hurley dated businessman Steve Bing on and off in the early 2000s.
They split for good after 18 months, only to discover weeks later Hurley she was pregnant
with Damian, who she welcomed as a single parent in 2002.
Bing initially denied the claims, but a paternity test later confirmed he was the father.
The businessman sadly passed away in June 2020 after reportedly taking his own life.
Their teenage son leaned on fans’ “love and support” in the days after his father’s
death.
The young model posted a message of gratitude on Instagram.
“I’d like to thank you all again for your overwhelming kindness over the past few days,”
he wrote.
“Your love and support have helped me greatly during this challenging time.”
Elizabeth wrote a tribute earlier in the week, sharing a series of photos of them together
during their 18-month relationship.
“I am saddened beyond belief that my ex, Steve, is no longer with us.
It is a terrible end.
Our time together was very happy, and I’m posting these pictures because although we
went through some tough times, it’s the good, wonderful memories of a sweet, kind
man that matter.”
In the past year, they had become close again.
They last spoke on their son’s 18th birthday.
It’s good that she has a close friend to lean on in times like these.
Another proof that open communication will get you far.
How do you guys feel about this English power couple’s relationship?
Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
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