Elizabeth Hurley and Hugh Grant's romantic relationship may have ended over 20 years ago, but the actress turned bikini designer says the friendship born out of their breakup is still just as strong as ever.
Hurley discussed the connection she has with her former longtime boyfriend on People's In the 90s podcast saying, “I'm still extremely good friends with Hugh.” The pair first met in 1987 and dated for 13 years before breaking up in 2000. She continued, “You know, we 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.” She explained, “We haven't been romantically involved for 20 years, I think, even though we have such a strong friendship. But we're always very aware that there are other people in our lives. There's partners, there's children. You can't just, sort of, live in a lovely, rosy, mist of the past. You have to move with the times and be very respectful of the present, which we are.”
In fact, the two actors are still so close they regularly talk on the phone and Grant is even the godfather to Hurley's son with Steve Bing, Damian. In an October 2020 episode of People's TV show, Hurley revealed, “The last time I spoke to Hugh would be this morning. I speak to him quite a lot. I was asking him his advice on a script I just received.” In fact, she explained, the actor has long served as her career advisor. “I still go to him for advice on scripts, even though he's very happily married with five children and I'm very happy in my own life, there's still certain bits we crossover with very well,” she said. “And asking advice about work, he's still my go-to person.”
And the feeling is definitely mutual as Grant told People in 2018 that his current relationship with Hurley is “like brother and sister.” He added, “I think it's partly because we went from zero to somewhere together, and we went through terrible years at the beginning when neither of us had any work, living in a tiny flat. It was quite bonding.”
— An Intimate View of a Young Queen Elizabeth II
— The Sacklers Launched OxyContin. Everyone Knows It Now.
— Exclusive Excerpt: An Icy Death at the Bottom of the World
— Lolita, Blake Bailey, and Me
— Kate Middleton and the Future of the Monarchy
— The Occasional Terror of Dating in the Digital Age
— The 13 Best Face Oils for Healthy, Balanced Skin
— From the Archive: Tinder and the Dawn of the “Dating Apocalypse”
— Sign up for the “Royal Watch” newsletter to receive all the chatter from Kensington Palace and beyond.
