Her undoubted beauty and fortune can often distract attention from the talent which led her to co-write All Saints’ No 1 single, Black Coffee.
But even this glorious embarrassment of riches doesn’t make Kirsty Bertarelli, 54, invulnerable to heartbreak.
Indeed, I can disclose that the privately educated former Miss UK has parted from the lover who brought her so much comfort following her divorce from Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli, now 60, in 2021.
Following the end of that marriage, which had lasted 21 years and been blessed with three children, Kirsty’s allies alleged that she’d ‘been through the mill’ – and were thrilled when she bonded with a new man.
Such was her caution about the relationship, Britain’s richest divorcee resisted making his full name public – only for it to later emerge the lucky man was one Marc Citron.
In 2023, they hosted a joint birthday party in Sardinia during which Bertarelli – who received £350million in her divorce settlement – serenaded Citron. ‘You give me butterflies,’ she sang. There was ‘not a dry eye in the house’ by the end, according to guests.
Kirsty Bertarelli and Marc Citron have ended their relationship, but the pair reportedly ‘remain really good friends’
But now a pal tells me: ‘Marc and Kirsty were truly a beautiful couple together and remain really good friends, but it just didn’t work out in the end.’
Only last year they weathered a medical crisis which very nearly ended Citron’s life, after he suffered what Bertarelli called a ‘massive’ stroke. Sharing a clip of a new song she’d composed for him, she wrote: ‘My beautiful soul connection… what we went through no one will understand or comprehend but by writing this song for you… we did good baby – we did good… You’re a total Angel.’
Bertarelli declines to comment, but a chum tells me she’s ‘focusing on building her music career’. Citron, meanwhile, has understandably been concentrating on his health.
‘They came into each other’s lives at such a pivotal time,’ adds the friend, ‘and for that they’ll always be grateful for what they shared.’
Cumani: Did I not mention the wedding?
Horse racing presenter Francesca Cumani attending day one of Royal Ascot on Tuesday
She’s had male admirers trailing in her wake ever since her days at Bristol University.
But now, it seems, racing pundit Francesca Cumani has also left her family playing catch up – after not telling them about her cantering into a second marriage.
The ceremony with triathlete Max Johnson was ‘about a year ago’, the ITV star reveals. ‘I slightly forgot to tell my parents about it. And his parents,’ Cumani, 43, adds. ‘[That] didn’t go down too well.’
She also tells the Style DNA podcast that the wedding simply concerned ‘boring, grown up stuff’. Who said romance is dead?
Brian’s party for the ages
Brian Cox and Nicole Ansari-Cox attending the opening night gala for the Raindance Film Festival in London
Entering your ninth decade with a star-studded, boozy bash sounds like the dream way to mark the special occasion.
But Brian Cox’s 80th birthday celebrations earlier this month, attended by acting titans such as Sir Ian McKellen, have left him worse for wear.
‘I’m knackered,’ he tells me at the Raindance film festival’s opening gala at the Waldorf Hilton, in London, where he received the Icon award.
‘I’m still recovering from the party. When you’ve got 180 people in a room and you know everyone, that’s a bit overwhelming.’
The two-day bash also saw the Succession star head to St James’s Church, Piccadilly, for a ‘silver wedding service’ with his actress wife Nicole Ansari, 57.
Nothing is secret for ‘Angel’ Leomie
British model and TV show host Leomie Anderson turned heads at the V&A summer party held in South Kensington this week
As an ‘angel’ for Victoria’s Secret lingerie, Leomie Anderson is no stranger to wearing revealing clothing – and off the catwalk she’s just as daring with her sartorial choices.
The model, 33, turned heads at the V&A Summer Party in London while wearing a white Stella McCartney trouser suit. And she paired it with a barely there, gold bird-shaped bra.
‘I love a little body moment because, for me, I feel like there’s going to be a time in my life when I can’t dress like this any more,’ she explains. ‘So, while I can, I’m going do it to the most.’
EL James’ 75million shades of green
Whoever knew there was so much pleasure – and profit – to be had from pain? Certainly not Erika Leonard when she began writing her stories of everyday sado-masochism in 2009.
But for E.L. James, her pen name, such ignorance is long gone. Some 15 years since Fifty Shades of Grey hit the bookshelves, Fifty Shades Limited – into which she deposits her literary income – and her other firm, Erika James, have disclosed their latest accounts. It shows her bottom line – a term perhaps never more aptly used – is now £75.6million.
Zara Tindall wore a striking lilac puff-sleeve midi dress with a belted waist as she headed to the Ascot Racecourse on Tuesday
Zara Tindall’s Ascot wardrobe is proving rather influential. The King’s niece, 45, has become a style muse for fashion designer Rebecca Vallance, who created a bespoke lilac dress for her to wear at this week’s races. And Zara’s design will now be a blueprint for Vallance’s new Resort collection. She tells me: ‘What I love about Ascot is that people still enjoy dressing for the occasion.’
Having gone from Cabinet minister to inmate then prison chaplain, Jonathan Aitken knows a thing or two about redemption.
But he has little faith in clergy using artificial intelligence (AI) to write sermons. ‘AI would not be much good at [showing vulnerability]… nor at including humanity, humour or the Holy Spirit in its robotic sermonising,’ says Aitken, who has preached in HMP Pentonville for the past nine years.
