Hugh Grant playfully mocked his ex-girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley when he called her “high maintenance” during his latest interview with Fashion.
The heretic actor, 64, dated the model, 59, from 1987 to 2000 and the couple made headlines when they attended the premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral in 1994 with Elizabeth dressed in her famous safety-pin dress.
The daring garment put the star on the map, and while Hugh chatted with his Bridget Jones co-star Renee Zellwegger, he revealed that the former couple would be having lunch with Gianni Versace himself.
She explained, “I used to go backstage and have lunch with Gianni Versace before his shows in Milan,” before adding, “but I had very picky girlfriends who were into all this.”
Renee then joked: ‘Oh, it was the girlfriends. You’re a liar.’
Elizabeth became a household name overnight thanks to her extravagant couture dress, made from a blend of black silk and lycra, held together with oversized safety pins and borrowed from Versace’s flagship store in Old Bond. Street.
Hugh Grant mocked ‘his demanding’ ex-girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley as he reveals the couple were friends with fashion designer Gianni Versace after THAT safety-pin dress (pictured in 1994)
While Hugh chatted with his Bridget Jones co-star Renee Zellwegger, he revealed that the former couple would be having lunch with Gianni Versace himself.
In a Disney+ Vogue documentary last year, Elizabeth shared how she came to wear such a daring dress for the evening and how she dealt with the huge backlash.
She said: ‘I must have been photographed 800,000 billion times that night. The next day we were on the front page of all the newspapers and we were thinking, “What the hell is this?”
“I remember I was looking at it thinking, ‘What?’ and then I said, ‘Well, it was actually a pretty daring dress, wasn’t it?’
On how she came to dress such a major designer so early in her career, Elizabeth explained: “I knew I had to have a dress and someone said, ‘I know someone who has a PR company and maybe I can help you,'” so That day we called and said “Do you have anything?” and they said “We have a dress.”
And I said, “Well, okay, I’d love to borrow it, if I can.” So I went by subway to look for the dress, which was delivered to me in a small white plastic bag.
The actress and model took the subway to pick up her infamous black Versace number held together with large gold safety pieces.
She said: “I had never heard the name Versace before and it seemed quite precarious.”
“But I remember touching my toes and stretching, and nothing moved, so I galloped down the stairs and that was it.”
She explained, “I used to go backstage and have lunch with Gianni Versace before his shows in Milan,” before adding, “but I had very picky girlfriends who were into all this.”
The daring garment put the star on the map, and while Hugh chatted with his Bridget Jones co-star Renee Zellwegger, he revealed that the former couple would be having lunch with Gianni Versace himself.
Hugh chatted with co-star Renee Zellwegger for his latest Vogue interview ahead of the new Bridget Jones movie (pictured in 2004 for Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason)
He adds: “The next day we were on the front page of all the newspapers and I thought: ‘What the hell is this?’
“I hadn’t really realized how daring the dress was.”
Last month, Elizabeth confessed that she credits her relationship with Hugh for helping her through a crucial time in her life, but admitted that they no longer see each other, despite remaining firm friends after their amicable split in 2000.
Appearing at the Bazaar At Work summit, she said: “I was with my ex, Hugh Grant, so it happened to both of us at the same time.”
‘Like me, he had also worked a lot and thought he was doing pretty well, until Four Weddings and a Funeral came out and suddenly he was completely different: he was a phenomenon.
‘The film was a huge success and everything changed. But there were two of us and I think that helped enormously. When you suddenly become the center of attention, your lives are not prepared for it.
And he added: “You have no protection.” It was alarming. The press was much ruder in the 90s and 2000s than it is now. I really think people aren’t allowed to be as rude as they were back then.
Actor Heretic, 64, dated the model, 59, from 1987 to 2000 and they remained friends after their split (pictured in 1999).
She said: ‘I must have been photographed 800,000 billion times that night. The next day we were on the front page of all the newspapers and we were thinking, “What the hell is this?”
‘I think it creates a bond when you go into the trenches with someone. I mean, he’s married and has five kids. I hardly ever see him, but I still hold him very close to my heart.’
Reflecting on her iconic dress, which she borrowed as a last-minute favor from Dean Aslett, then director of women’s fashion and atelier at Versace, Hurley admits she was stunned by the attention she received.
“It was very strange,” he recalled. ‘I had been working for a few years and, in my opinion, I thought I was quite famous; I had been in some things.
‘For my family, I was a success; but I had no idea what it really meant to be in the public eye. This was a real shock to one’s psyche.’