‘Happily unmarried’ Kirstie Allsopp’s wedding was inspired by neighbour Richard Curtis
After claiming she had no interest in getting married, Richard Curtis’ secret Love Actually wedding was inspired by Kirstie Allsopp’s next-door neighbor.
The Location, Location, Location star has been “happily unmarried” for years, after setting up home with her property tycoon partner Ben Andersen. The couple, who share two children and two stepchildren, have been together since 2004, and tied the knot in an intimate ceremony at a Mayfair’s Grosvenor Chapel – a spot close to Kirstie’s heart.
Even her Channel 4 co-star Phil Spencer was among Kirstie’s closest friends who were unable to attend due to her last-minute arrangements. Two weeks before her big day, the TV presenter purchased her gold sequinned dress.
The Beatles’ All You Need is Love was a suggestion from her now-husband Ben, just like the movie’s “huge Richard Curtis fan” Kirstie. She also explained that the family had planned a huge party for Ben’s 64th birthday, so most of her guests thought that’s what they were attending.
The invitation to Kirstie and Ben’s guests only came three days before the wedding, on Monday. She told the Mail: “On Thursday, Ben and I were married at The Grosvenor Chapel, where my parents and grandparents were married, and where we celebrated my father’s life in June. A small group of close friends and family members attended the wedding, which was only revealed on Monday.
It’s the same church that her family and her late father’s life both met at, and it’s also the one from the romantic comedy Love Actually. And in a bizarre twist of fate, her next-door neighbor is also the film’s director, which sees Keira Knightley and Chiwetel Ejiofor wed in a church dating service from the 17th century.
Similar to Richard Curtis and his long-term partner Emma Freud, Kirstie had a change of heart. She had publicly insisted for years that wedding bells were never on the agenda. Richard, 68, is the man behind many on-screen weddings, having directed the likes of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually, and About Time.
After ironically declaring never to get married, he and script editor Emma, who is the great-granddaughter of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, finally walked down the aisle in a covert ceremony in 2023. The couple, who have four children, have been married since the early 1990s.
And now, Kirstie has followed in the rom-com king’s footsteps, after finally tying the knot with Ben. Kirstie and Ben reportedly remained unmarried in January 2020, and she also brought up another well-known couple they knew who had also rejected the exchange of vows.
She wrote in a column for the Daily Mail: “Each to their own is my feeling. I’ve been with my partner for 16 years and have two children and two stepchildren and, like many of my friends, we are very happily unmarried”. She added: “I have no problem being a middle-aged girlfriend with an even older middle-aged boyfriend. And I’ve learned the most from Richard Curtis and Emma Freud, the most well-known happily married couple.
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Source: Mirror
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