Actor Hugh Grant and actress/model Elizabeth (Liz) Hurley met on a Spanish film set in 1987. They soon became a couple And they were so perfect together, the Brad and Jen of their time. All in all, they were together for 13 years. Some hoped they would marry. It never happened.
They were just adorable together, appearing on Red Carpets everywhere. Perhaps the most memorable appearance was when Liz wore a Versace plunging gown to the premiere of Hugh's breakout film 1994's Four Weddings and a Funeral. The sides were held together (barely) by huge safety pins. It was quite a sight.
They seemed to live in a fairy tale where people find love and live happily ever after. Alas, it was not so. In 1995 Grant was caught in a "lewd act" with a working girl. Still, they soldiered on for five more years before calling it quits in 2000.
Neither blames the "lewd act" for the split. And the two have remained friends.
Here's the tale of outspoken actor Hugh Grant and Liz Hurley thirteen year-long relationship. And their continuing friendship.
Let The Fairy Tale Begin
When she met Hugh Grant on the Spanish set of Roaring with the Wind in 1987, Liz Hurley was just beginning her acting career. Grant was already an established actor, just breaking into movies after years and years of appearing in TV shows. To a certain extent, both were struggling to build their careers.
The making of Hugh Grant as a hugely bankable international star didn't come until 1994 in Richard Curtis' Four Weddings and a Funeral. When Hurley appeared with him in that Versace dress, the world sat up and took notice, mostly of Hurley.
That was 1994, the height of the fairy tale that was Hugh Grant and Liz Hurley. Come 1995 and things turned sour.
In the summer of 1995, Hugh Grant was in Los Angeles to promote his okayish film Nine Months. It was pretty standard romantic comedy stuff. Unfortunately, he was booked on every talk show going.
Why unfortunately? Well, before he appeared on the shows he was caught with one Divine Brown (Estella Marie Thompson). Seems he had paid her to perform a "lewd act" on him. And the cops caught him at it. Brown and Grant were arrested and taken to jail.
Hugh did the talk shows he was committed to. Of course, the incident came up. And he apologized (profusely) saying he was stupid and wrong.
Meanwhile, Divine and her "manager" Gangsta Brown were selling the story to the British tabloids for big bucks. Even in pre-Twitter and Instagram days, the tabloids made certain the story of Hugh's bust was front-page, headline stuff.
Two weeks later, an unsmiling Hurley appeared with a sheepish-looking Grant 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.
Hugh Grant survived the scandal and went on to do some of his best work in movies like Notting Hill (1999) and Love Actually (2003).
Hurley's career thrived as well. In 1995, with no modeling experience, 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.
Goodbye Romance, Hello Besties
But by 2000 it was clear it was over. 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 "the sex bit probably fizzled out, but now she's my absolute best friend—number one person I call in a crisis."
A month later Hurley appear on the show and had a different story to tell. Sure, she admitted, they are still besties, but what really soured the relationship was the fact that Hugh is the grumpy type.
She put in: "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." Oh yes, she said, he could be charming, but definitely not all of the time.
And, as proof-positive of the ongoing friendship, Hurley appointed Grant as the godfather of her now 18-year-old son Damian. The cute little boy, the product of Hurley's liaison with English businessman Steve Bing, is now all grown up and hunky hot.
So, why have the two remained such close friends?
In 2018 Hugh told People magazine's Jess Cagle that he and Hurley are "like brother and sister".
He went on: "I think it's partly because we went from zero to somewhere together, and we went through terrible years in the beginning when neither of us had any work, living in a tiny flat. It was quite bonding."
So's that's the story of Hugh Grant and Liz Hurley's romance cum besties journey over the last 33 years.