When they tied the knot in March 2009, Champneys owner Stephen Purdew and his bride Isabelle insisted their plan was to be ‘together for ever’.
So I am sad to report that 11 years after they made their vows in front of their celebrity friends, the couple have split and are in the process of getting divorced.
Stephen, 60, who is reportedly worth £100 million, is understood to have left the family’s mansion in the grounds of the Tring branch of the health spa chain and is staying in the resort itself while the couple decide how to split their assets. Isabelle, 39, a former model who met Stephen in a London nightclub, remains at the family home with the couple’s two children, aged 13 and ten.
When they tied the knot in March 2009, Champneys owner Stephen Purdew and his bride Isabelle insisted their plan was to be ‘together for ever’. Pictured: Stephen Purdew and Isabelle at Stephen’s 60th birthday party in 2019
Stephen last night confirmed the split and said the decision was amicable, before adding: ‘I can’t understand why she would want to divorce me – I thought I was perfect!’
Isabelle, who declined to comment, is the head of retail at the Champneys resorts. In the summer of 2013, she hosted Cherie Blair and her son Euan’s bride-to-be Suzanne Ashman and her bridesmaids for a pampering weekend.
Champneys, which has four sites across the UK, was a favourite of the late Princess Diana.Pictured: Champneys in Tring, Hertfordshire, where Stephen is now living
Stephen and Isabelle married at St George’s in Mayfair before hosting a reception at nearby Claridge’s – a no-expenses-spared event that featured in glossy magazine Hello! Guests included Liam Gallagher and his former wife Nicole Appleton, Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan, former England footballer Ian Wright and comedian Julian Clary. Robert Purdew, Stephen’s son from a previous relationship, was the best man.
Stephen, an avid Arsenal fan, also threw a glitzy party for his 60th birthday last year, where guests included former Strictly dancer Kristina Rihanoff and comedian Bobby Davro.
Champneys, which has four sites across the UK, was a favourite of the late Princess Diana.
When he bought a £15 million mansion in suburbia, it appeared Simon Cowell was finally ready for a quieter life. Interior designers were hired following the purchase of the property in South-West London in October 2018 and the music mogul was expected to move in seven months later.
Now friends wonder why Simon, pictured below with partner Lauren Silverman, hasn’t moved from Holland Park, where he has lived for 20 years, and why the £1 million renovation project has not begun. Mind you, Simon was never one to act quickly: he started dating Lauren in 2013, and friends are still waiting for them to marry.
Now friends wonder why Simon, pictured above with partner Lauren Silverman, hasn’t moved from Holland Park, where he has lived for 20 years, and why the £1 million renovation project has not begun
It is no secret Simon, 60, invests considerable sums from his estimated £385 million fortune in property. He has bought homes for ex-girlfriends Terri Seymour and Mezhgan Hussainy in the past.
But friends are now asking why he wanted the £15 million house. ‘It is such a strange buy,’ says one close associate. ‘He hates traffic and loves the fact that his Holland Park home is so near to his office. The journey from the new house to work could take him over an hour.’
A friend said plans to move to the new property had been delayed by the coronavirus crisis, adding: ‘It now looks like it will be 2022.’
Spare a thought for Georgia Toffolo, who faces being thrown out of her London home – all because of her new King Charles spaniel puppy, Monty.
Toff, who is renting the £650,000, two-bedroom Chelsea pad, moaned in a podcast: ‘I got an email yesterday about the dog, they were like, “This is not part of your lease”, so I might have to move out of my lovely house, but Monty’s worth it.’
Georgia Toffolo (pictured), faces being thrown out of her London home – all because of her new King Charles spaniel puppy, Monty
The I’m A Celebrity winner, pictured right with Monty, added: ‘He’s really well trained. I wouldn’t allow anything to happen to the house.
‘I think at the moment, with everything going on, is it top of their priorities to have a go at a 25-year-old with a puppy?’
Florence Pugh (pictured) says she honed her acting skills by chatting up barmen – when she was just seven
Oscar nominee Florence Pugh says she honed her acting skills by chatting up barmen – when she was just seven.
The Little Women star, right, whose father owns restaurants in Oxford, revealed: ‘From a young age, I loved the fact I could go up to the bar and flirt with the barman. I remember being about seven and waltzing up to the bar and ordering a cocktail. And when he was making it, leaning over and going, “Umm, it hasn’t got alcohol in it? Because I’m not a grown up.” I thought I’d done such a good job pretending I was a lady that he didn’t recognise it was me, the owner’s daughter.’
Never been short of confidence then…
Creating a holiday home has been far from elementary for Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch and wife Sophie Hunter – but they’ve finally finished rebuilding a semi-derelict cottage to create a five-bedroom retreat on the Isle of Wight.
The cottage is on the Dunsbury Estate, owned by relatives of Sophie. With the sea just a short walk away, it sounds like the perfect place for their two sons, Kit, five, and Hal, three.
The couple, right, married on the island on Valentine’s Day in 2015.
The One Direction lads aren’t exactly known for being subtle but I wonder if former member Liam Payne is trying to tell us something – with a skull?
Observant fans were quick to spot that the skull is biting into another tattoo – one of Liam’s ex-girlfriend Cheryl Tweedy’s eye
The 26-year-old has announced that his favourite tattoo is the skull on his left forearm, pictured right.
Observant fans were quick to spot that the skull is biting into another tattoo – one of Liam’s ex-girlfriend Cheryl Tweedy’s eye.
‘I just think this guy is as cool as hell,’ says Liam of the tattoo. ‘Got a few teeth missing, he’s obviously had a rugged life.’
Is Liam sending a subliminal message to Cheryl, left, the mother of his three-year-old son Bear?
Congratulations to Prince Harry’s former wingman Tom ‘Skippy’ Inskip and his wife Lara, who have welcomed their first son, Albert, into the world. The happy parents and their newborn live in Washington DC, but I don’t suppose they will be jetting to the other side of the United States to see Harry, Meghan and their son Archie in Los Angeles any time soon.
Harry and Meghan attended the Inskips’ wedding in Jamaica but were later accused of hijacking the event and stealing the bride’s thunder. Although Tom and Lara attended the Sussexes wedding ceremony at Windsor, they were left off the guest list for the main reception at Frogmore House. Perhaps Skippy might offer an olive branch to his old chum and ask him to become one of Albert’s godparents?
In what must be a case of Take App And Party, Robbie Williams reveals he and his former Take That bandmates have been staying in touch daily via Zoom. ‘My boys are amazing,’ Robbie, 46, tells me. ‘I love them. There is a banter that can only be shared with us because we’ve experienced something only we have.’
Robbie, above, also says he’s successfully fighting off the lockdown flab – and he doesn’t need a trendy celeb diet. ‘I’m doing Weight Watchers,’ he announces proudly.
Cate Blanchett has been happily married for 22 years, which is frankly astonishing when you discover what sort of things husband Andrew Upton buys her as anniversary presents.
The Oscar-winning actress reveals that: ‘On my first wedding anniversary my husband gave me a vacuum cleaner and then he gave me a mixer… now that list includes coffee makers and irons. Now it’s the microwave anniversary.’
Don’t try this at home, chaps.
Robbie, above, also says he’s successfully fighting off the lockdown flab – and he doesn’t need a trendy celeb diet. ‘I’m doing Weight Watchers,’ he announces proudly.