Love, Lipstick and Lies (9 page)

But the fact we didn’t speak the same language was not going to make this relationship easy. My friend Lisa, who lives out in LA, set up a translator for me on my phone so that when Leo texted me I was able to copy and paste the text and then translate it. From then on he and I texted each other all the time. I found out that he
was a model and TV presenter, and he was Argentinian. He gave the impression that he was very well known in his own country. Okay, so it wasn’t great that he lived on a different continent and didn’t speak English, but it seemed a positive sign that he at least came from the same industry as me and that he was famous. As I’ve already said, one of the many things that drove Alex and me apart was his thirst for celebrity. But Leo was already famous. He wouldn’t have to use me or my name to promote himself, I thought. That would be a first.

I don’t think you can help your feelings or who you fall for. I knew it was under two months since I had split from Alex, though the truth was our relationship had been over a long time before that. And I knew other people would think I should wait a while before having another relationship. But my feelings for Leo were overwhelming and they felt right to me. I had asked him if he had Googled me, thinking, Please don’t because the pictures are shit and the stories about me even worse … It would be enough to put anyone off. He said that he hadn’t. Looking back, I think it’s almost certain that he would have. It’s human nature, isn’t it? I had Googled him and seen all his modelling pictures, which were stunning.

My head was telling me that I shouldn’t jump into another relationship so soon after my marriage break up, but my heart was telling me the opposite. Me being me, my heart won. And so six days after we had met, I asked Leo to come over to England and see me. He
wasn’t filming and it seemed like an ideal opportunity for us to get to know each other better. As he was packing for the trip I knew that he had a friend with him who spoke English and I texted him, via her, to explain that I had two other children besides Harvey. I laid it all out for him. At the time I was naïve and thought nothing of him coming to see me after we had spent only one night together. But looking back, I wonder whether he had already done his research on me and discovered that I was well known and had money. Why else would a young man who was that good-looking and eligible fly to another country to be with an older woman, with three kids, when he could easily get any beautiful young model? But maybe I had been amazing on that one night …!

I was on a shoot when Leo arrived at Heathrow and so I arranged for Rob my driver to pick him up, along with Phil, and bring him to me. I was so excited about seeing Leo again! I rushed to the car once I had finished work, and as soon as I saw him I felt that spark of attraction, that chemistry. It completely overtook the language barrier. It was such an intense feeling.

Rob drove us back to Gary and Phil’s flat in central London. We had paps following the car and I was furious that they had tracked us down. I couldn’t understand how they knew where we were. Once we were safely inside the flat Leo took out his laptop and pretended that he had to do some work for a few minutes. Then he showed me that he had translated the words of a Spanish
love song into English, explaining that they summed up how he felt about me. At the time I thought that was so romantic. My interpretation looking back? That he was a proper charmer and very calculating … He knew exactly how to push my buttons. But okay, back to how I felt then. The gesture impressed me.

He had also brought me some presents: a set of silver stirrups, kind of Western-style, that they ride with in Argentina, chocolates and a poncho. It reminded me a little bit of when you have a foreign student to stay and they bring you gifts from their country! I didn’t attempt to explain that to him via Google Translate. God knows what would have come out. I think I wore the poncho once – not really my thing. When we split, I sold it on eBay. But at least he made the effort, I thought. Still, I couldn’t help wondering how he knew I was into riding. I hadn’t told him. Now I can only think he
had
done his research on me.

He was such a contrast to Alex, so masculine and so clean-cut and such a gentleman. And making love with him was so refreshing, because it was so normal … Imagine standing in a hurricane, in Force-12 winds – that was what sex had felt like with Alex towards the end. Then imagine lying in a field full of daisies in warm sunshine – that was what sex with Leo felt like. No wonder I fell for him.

The press attention was insane though. We couldn’t go anywhere without being pursued by the paps, which was not an ideal start to a relationship. It didn’t seem
to faze Leo though, he seemed to enjoy it. I know I always get criticised for introducing my boyfriends to my children too quickly, but Leo stayed with Gary and Phil up in London when I had the children, and with me only when they were with their dad. In spite of the language barrier, Gary and Phil had already given Leo their seal of approval, and my other friends and family who met him really liked him as well. Even when there is a language problem you can still get a good sense of what someone is like and Leo had lovely manners when he was introduced to people, was a real gentleman. He seemed charming and outgoing.

Most importantly of all, when he finally met Junior and Princess he was good with them. He was good with Harvey too. I’ve said it before: any man who wants to be with me, first and foremost has to be good with my children. If they’re not interested, then it doesn’t matter how much I like them, they are never going to be part of my life. All I want, and all I have ever wanted, is to create a secure, happy family unit.

Leo also had a playful side and liked bantering with me and teasing me, though of course we were limited by the language barrier. He seemed easygoing and up for a laugh. You have to have that in a relationship, I think. It felt right to be with him, and I believed it would be amazing, if only we could speak the same language. Back then I was optimistic and thought that when he learned English our relationship would have a brilliant future.

Leo also shared my love of riding – the first man I had ever had a relationship with to do that. I soon learned that it was not a good idea to let him loose on my very expensive dressage horses, though, as he had a ride on Wallace, one of my favourites, and let’s just say it didn’t go well. Dressage horses are so finely tuned and used to responding to certain very specific commands. Leo was a confident rider, who had been riding all his life, but he was more used to galloping across the plains, or whatever they have in Argentina. It was a miracle Wallace didn’t buck him off.

I got the impression Leo was quite posh and came from a good family and again I hoped that he hadn’t Googled me or he might be in for a bit of a surprise on that score … Such a lot of shocking stuff has been written about me over the years, a hell of a lot of which is completely made up shit, but once it’s on the web, it’s out there for everyone to read.

Leo was easily the best-looking guy I had ever been with. He was a beautiful man and dressed really well, in just the style I liked, young and on trend. But it wasn’t just about his looks. It was how he made me feel … and he made me feel so good. He was always hugging and kissing me, which I love, and paying me attention. I think I really needed that after what I’d been through with Alex. I know I’m insecure and want to be loved, but at the same time I can be a nightmare because I’m fiercely independent. What can I say? I’m a complex woman! A typical Gemini.

One weekend during Leo’s visit I decided we should all get away to the country, ideally in the middle of nowhere, a place the paps couldn’t track us down. I booked a log cabin for myself, Leo and my gay Mafia – Gary, Phil, Royston and Nick – along with my sister and her boyfriend. ‘One lady and four campers,’ I joked to Gary, not forgetting my gorgeous, fit, new boyfriend. I think Gary was expecting some kind of glamorous spa retreat, which was so typical of him. He’s such a neat freak and hates getting dirty. I love being in the countryside, but my friends are city types – it made me crack up as we all stumbled around in the woods, in the pitch dark, trying to locate the cabin. We were winding each other up, saying it was like
The Blair Witch Project
, but the fact was you could hear traffic in the distance. We were not starring in our own horror movie.

We had a great time. It was still hard trying to have a conversation with Leo, and we had to rely on Google Translate, which didn’t always get the meaning across, but I did feel this intense bond between us. We were very physical with each other, and not just in the bedroom. I think we were like that to compensate for the fact we couldn’t tell each other how we felt.

But throughout his visit, I had this nagging feeling of sadness as I knew he would be flying back to Argentina very soon and then we would be apart. I tried to tell myself that it would be good if we didn’t live together straight away, as I had done in past relationships, especially with Alex, which had left me feeling
suffocated because he was always in the house. But it didn’t work. I knew I would be desolate when Leo left. And so when he invited me to go to Argentina, I had to go. He told me that he wanted to introduce me to his family, a very big deal apparently because I would be only the second girl he had ever done that with. Great, I thought, he’s as serious about me as I am about him. I loved that we were so open with each other about our feelings. No playing games, which I hate because they do your head in when you’re constantly questioning if the man likes you. I suppose the language barrier meant there could be no games between us. It was either all or nothing.

I had only just started filming my TV reality show,
Katie
, for Sky. After my experience with Pete, when we were filmed all the time and no aspect of our marriage seemed to be off limits, which had really affected our relationship, I had vowed that I would keep my significant other off camera. But if I did this with Leo, I wouldn’t be able to see him, as he would be in Argentina and I would be in the UK. And I was really falling for him. He seemed almost too good to be true. My friends and family always say that I need someone strong because I can be bossy and I’m very independent. I don’t need to rely on anyone else to support me because if I want something, I can just get it myself, which I know can be hard to take for the men in my life. They need to earn my respect and not let me walk all over them, because if I can, I will. I always like to push it and see how far
I can go. Right from the start Leo kept me in check and I didn’t feel I had the upper hand at all. In fact, he was the one who bossed
me
around and put me in my place. It amazed my friends, because if he asked me to do something and I didn’t get round to it, he would keep asking until I did.

He was also very sociable back then and liked going out, meeting up with friends and having a few drinks, though never getting drunk. And he had his own career. He might have looked like a pretty boy but he was very intelligent. Sometimes I found it hard to believe he was only twenty-five as he seemed to have an old head on young shoulders. At last, I thought, I’ve found my equal, my match. My friends all advised me to be cautious about rushing in however. As Gary said, ‘Leo will be different in Argentina because he’ll be with his mates. And it will either be really good and what you’re into, or he might turn out to be a kid. He is only twenty-five, don’t forget.’ But I still had a good feeling about him.

* * *

Because of last-minute issues with my divorce I was actually going to make two trips to Argentina, one for just three days and another lasting just over two weeks, after the Easter holidays.

When I landed in Buenos Aires the first time Leo was there waiting for me in Arrivals, looking as gorgeous as ever. I had almost forgotten how tall he was, how broad-shouldered. It felt so romantic as he swept me up in his
arms. ‘Hello, Baby,’ he said, kissing me. And then he whisked me back to his apartment where we made up for being apart …

He had given me the impression that he had a large place, but it was actually quite small. It was a typical boy’s pad, full of his skateboarding and snowboarding gear. But I thought it was sweet. And, in a romantic gesture, Leo had arranged candles round the tiny bath, which I could just about fit my big toe in.

The next day he took me out for lunch, at some lovely restaurant just outside the city, and insisted on paying. It might not sound that unusual to you, but believe me it was unusual for me back then. I was used to paying for everything when I went out, but every girl likes to be treated, don’t they? I still tried to pay, but Leo wouldn’t hear of it. Then he’d organised a boat for us to travel back to Buenos Aires. I was feeling really looked after. Yes, we had the camera crew with us, but to be honest I’m so used to being filmed, and I got on so well with the crew, that it didn’t feel like an intrusion, more like part of the furniture.

The next thing Leo had planned was a party to introduce me to his friends. He held it on the roof terrace of his apartment, by the pool. He had invited nearly thirty people and I was so impressed by how calm and organised he was. True, he had friends helping him make all the salads in the kitchen while he grilled the meat on the massive barbecue outside. But if it had been me, I’d have been flapping about and running late. Not
Leo. He had everything under control, which was just as well really as I went to have a rest and ended up falling asleep. I arrived at the party after the first guests. Oops! I did offer to help, but he replied, ‘No, no, you chill.’ And so I did. It wasn’t that easy as not many of his friends spoke English, but they were all lovely to me. I have to say, though, Argentinian girls are very pretty … far too pretty for my liking. Talk about competition!

Towards the end, when I’d had a couple of glasses of wine, I wanted to liven things up a little and get everyone dancing, but that was because it was hard work trying to communicate and dancing is the universal language, isn’t it? Overall it had been a good night and it only increased my respect for Leo, who had been such a great host.