London: With a £45million London home, 120 pairs of Louboutin shoes and a dad worth £1.8billion, Tamara Ecclestone appears to be the girl who has everything. But the one thing the Formula 1 heiress would like most for Christmas is something she can’t have- for her parents to still be together.
Tamara, 28, was devastated when dad Bernie and mum Slavica, a former model, split in 2009, only for her father to marry Brazilian beauty Fabiana Flosi in the summer without telling her.
Like thousands of Brits with divorced parents, she now has to decide who to spend Christmas with. She said: “There is a selfish part of you that wanted them to just sort it out and stay together.
“When I thought about things like Christmas and who was I going to spend it with it, it really upset me.”
What hurt even more for the reality TV star was that Bernie got married in their Swiss home in Gstaad, where the Ecclestones had spent many happy Christmases.
She explained: “It sucks because we always had a family Christmas. So that was really hard to deal with.
“I love Christmas. All of my Christmases growing up were amazing. We would be in Switzerland in the snow and would go skiing in the afternoon. But times have changed now. It’s sad.
“When they divorced I found it hard to deal with. It was a big change and I’m not good with change.
“Then seeing my dad with someone else was a real shock. I knew they were going to get married but I didn’t know the ins and outs because he said he wanted to keep it private.
“I also think he was trying to protect us in a way, out of loyalty to my mother so we didn’t feel bad about it. It was a rocky road, but now we are in a better place.
“It was really tough going for a while but my parents are happier away from each other and that makes me happy.”
Tamara, who split with her boyfriend Omar Khyami in July, will experience a completely different type of Christmas this year.
She will be at her sister Petra, 23, and brother-in-law James Stunt’s £52million mansion in Los Angeles — in a bid to start a new family tradition.
Tamara said: “I’m going to do our first hot Christmas, in LA with my sister and mum. I won’t see my dad, but I’m sure I will when I get back.
“After the year I’ve had it’s nice to get away for a complete change. I’m excited but I’ve been sending gravy and stuffing out there because I’m not sure you can get any of that.
“I want a traditional Christmas like we would have had, but in LA. Petra and I took cookery lessons in the summer because I really wanted to learn how to bake. I haven’t had chance to cook for anyone yet so now might be the time.”
And as for Christmas presents, what can a billionaire buy for a daughter who has everything?
She revealed: “My dad is really good at getting presents. Last year he bought me luggage because he knows how much I like to travel.
“When I was a kid he used to take me shopping to Miss Selfridge and Topshop to get my Christmas clothes.
“This year I would like another puppy. I want a chihuahua. I’ve got two already so I would like the third musketeer. They are called Frankie and Duke.
“My sister is the best present buyer in the world. She gets me clothes or bags, she gets how girlie I am.”
And it seems next Christmas could be all change again, as sister Petra is rumoured to be pregnant.
Without wanting to confirm her sister’s news, Tamara hints: “Having babies around at Christmas is what it is all about. I think there will be a baby next Christmas, “I certainly hope so. I will definitely be an aunt before I am a mother, I can tell you that.”
Tamara doesn’t plan to step far outside her sister’s LA home much over the festive period. But it’s not like she will need to.
The 14-bedroom mansion was the former home of TV producer Aaron Spelling, who created Charlie’s Angels, and boasts three hair salons, a sweeping double staircase inspired by classic movie Gone With The Wind and a ten-pin bowling alley and home cinema.
Tamara said: “Petra’s really happy in LA. I love spending time there, I have claimed my own room and left stuff there so no one else can use it. I’m very possessive about it. The house looks amazing.
“We do so much bowling in her house I get really competitive. It gets to the point where we are like, ‘We have to get out!’”
Since she split from Omar after a sex tape emerged proving he had cheated on her, Tamara has a new partner in crime to go out partying with — her mum.
She said: “Even though my parents are divorced they pulled together and really helped me through all the Omar stuff.
“It was a horrible time and I felt so betrayed. My dad is very happy I’m not with him any more.
“My mum is just happy we can hang out and do things together, like going out for shots. My mum is more up for it than I am I think!
“Even though she is in her 50s she’s so young and so youthful and she can party harder than me.
“She never tries to set me up with guys, she just wants me to be single.
“She’s like, ‘You are young, you will never get this time back. Stay single and enjoy yourself’. I love going out with her.”
With the heartbreak of 2012 behind her, in 2013 Tamara plans to focus on her career. Talks are under way for another series of her reality TV show Billion $$ Girl and she is also branching out into her own haircare range for Harrods.
But would she ever take over from her F1 mogul dad?
“No!” she announces firmly before the question is even finished.
“Those shoes are too big to fill. He has created such an amazing empire, I wouldn’t want to be the one to bring it down.
“I don’t know who would take over from him. I can’t think of anyone but it will definitely not be me.
“My dad has never even let me drive round any of the tracks on my own. I don’t think he trusts me, even though I’m a great driver.
“I think it would be great to have a women’s one (F1 championship), there are more and more women working in F1 so it would be a great extension of that, but I think I’ll stick to my hair product line.” # Source: The Sun
