Now move over, Liz... Damian’s got a new leading lady

EXCLUSIVE: Is it amore in the Italian sun for Hurley’s model son and flame-haired artist?

HE has spent most of his life in front of the cameras – usually with his mother at his side.

But now, it seems, there’s a new woman making a splash in Damian Hurley’s life.

For the model was pictured enjoying a romantic break in Italy with artist Millie Griffiths.

The pair struggled to keep their hands to themselves as they laughed and hugged in the fishing resort of Portofino.

And the 20-year-olds – who were in the village to celebrate the wedding of Miss Griffiths’ relative – made the most of the summer weather as they floated on a lilo off the coast.

Miss Griffiths was later spotted shopping with a bag from the Italian boutique Antica Sartoria and smoking a cigarette as they took in the sights.

Sources say the pair – who attended the £37,000-a-year Wellington College together – were ‘close’ throughout school and are now an item, having become ‘pretty much inseparable’. Hurley – the son of model Liz Hurley and late businessman Steve Bing – also has an affectionate nickname for Miss Griffiths, calling her ‘Baba ganoush’ after the Mediterranean appetizer. One friend told the Daily Mail: ‘They are super close and friendly. The bond there is real.’

Last week Hurley posted a photograph of himself snuggling

‘The bond there is real’

up to Miss Griffiths, which he captioned with a heart emoji.

His mother commented, ‘heaven’, while her friend, actress Patsy Kensit, reacted with three heart-eye symbols.

Since leaving the independent Berkshire school two years ago, Miss Griffiths has carved out a career as an artist. Meanwhile, Hurley has followed in his mother’s footsteps, becoming one of the most sought after male models in the UK. He is signed to the London arm of IMG Models, which also represents US sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid, Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen and Christie Blinkley. Hurley’s father Bing took his own life in 2020, prompting his grandfather Dr Peter Bing to launch a bitter court appeal which saw Hurley removed from accessing the fortune. Reacting to the outcome, 90s fashion muse Miss Hurley said: ‘When Stephen took his own life, he died thinking his children were going to be taken care of. What Stephen wanted has now been callously reversed. I know Stephen would have been devastated.’

She also had a three-year romance with cricketer Shane Warne, who her son described as a ‘father figure’ after his death in March.