Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley: The Highs and Lows of the ‘90s It Couple’s Very Public Relationship
Learn more about their relationship and how a 1995 scandal almost broke the couple up
Elizabeth Hurley and Hugh Grant were the 90s it-couple, mostly thanks to Hurley’s iconic fashion statements, their high-profile status and the infamous act that more-than-strained their relationship.
Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley first met in 1987 while starring in the film Remando Al Viento (1988), or as it’s otherwise known, Rowing with the Wind, and their connection was instantaneous. The two made a stunning pair and quickly became the couple to watch.
Grant had previously starred in a few movies before Rowing with the Wind, but this was Hurley’s first major starring role. The two were cast to play Lord Byron and Claire Clairmont in the romance/ horror film and it wasn’t long before their connection bled into real life.
“I think we were both astounded by our similarities in some ways,” Hurley shared about their meeting. “Both physical… and we have quite a similar upbringing. I remember thinking he looked quite nice in his costume at the time. We got on very well.”
The two were spotted together off-screen, though they didn’t make their first official public appearance until the 1994 premiere of Grant’s film, Four Weddings and a Funeral. But that appearance was much more than a simple couple reveal on the red carpet. Hurley’s fashion statement rocked the public and posing alongside Grant, the couple took the world by storm.
Hurley and Grant’s first public appearance was a night to remember
The actress showed up to the premiere in a stunning black Versace gown, held together by multiple gold pins and featuring a high-cut slit. Since Hurley was still fairly new to the industry, she had no idea how iconic her dress and their appearance as a couple would become.
“I was so unprepared for what happened that night,” Hurley recalled years later. “I urgently needed to find a dress to wear for Hugh’s premiere, and in those days, I had no idea about fashion.” The actress added that she was given the number of a PR agency that offered to let her borrow something.
“I remember going to an office where they literally fished a dress out of a white plastic bag,” she continued. “I took it home and did my own hair and makeup, fighting Hugh for the mirror, which wasn’t even full-length, in our tiny one-bedroom flat. It was all very unglamorous compared to how things get done these days.”
But despite it being unglamorous, Hurley’s fashion statement brought her to star status. This was also the beginning of the actress’s modeling career, as she soon booked her first gig with Estée Lauder.
Together, Hurley and Grant became a moment in pop culture that will always be remembered. The two often appeared on the red carpet, Hurley posing in remarkable fashion and Grant by her side.
The scandal that shook their relationship
In 1995, the couple’s very public relationship was tested after Grant was involved in a very public scandal. On June 27, 1995, he was arrested for lewd conduct with a sex worker on Sunset Boulevard. The act and his arrest became a major controversy in the media and ultimately altered Hurley and Grant’s then 8-year relationship.
“I felt like I’d been shot,” Hurley said in an interview with Barbara Walters after the scandal. The actress had a very honest and touching conversation with the journalist, explaining that while she didn’t know where they stood at the time, it could have been much worse.
“I keep saying to myself, ‘What if instead the telephone call had been he’s been killed in a car crash,’ and, you know, that’s ten billion times worse.” When Walters responded, saying if that had been the case, there would’ve been no embarrassment, only love, Hurley added, “But loss the rest of my life.”
A mere two weeks after the scandal, Hurley showed up to Grant’s premiere for his film, Nine Months (1995), though she wasn’t too thrilled about it. She addressed that night as well, saying, “I was miserable as sin.”
Why Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley stayed friends after breaking up
Despite the craziness that surrounded the couple after Grant’s indiscretion, Hurley remained with her boyfriend for another five years. However, things were never exactly perfect between the two of them. She spoke about how they “used to fight all day” about having children.
“We used to look in the mirror next to each other and say, ‘It’d have to be my eyes.’ ‘No, my eyes.’ ‘Your hair.’ ‘No, my hair!’…” Hurley explained. “So, we used to bicker for hours about who would look like who. And of course, none of his children look like him, as it happens.”
In 2000, after 13 years of dating, the couple officially called it quits, though the two have remained very close friends ever since. Hurley later gave birth to a son, Damian, in 2002 with film producer Steve Bing, and from 2007 to 2011, she was married to Arun Nayar.
Grant welcomed two children with ex-girlfriend Tinglan Hong: daughter Tabitha in 2011 and son Felix in 2013. He later married TV producer Anna Eberstein and had three children: son John in 2012, daughter Lulu in 2015 and daughter Blue in 2018. Grant is the godfather of Hurley’s son while she is godmother to one of his children.
Grant shared insight into their friendship in 2015, saying, “Well, the funny thing is, she’s still my absolute best friend. She’s my number one person I call in a crisis.” In 2017, Hurley, too, opened up, saying, “We’ve been apart longer than we were together. We were together for 13 years and then we’ve been best friends for 15.”
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