Liz Hurley And Arun Nayar’s Wedding: The Beauty, The Businessman And A Cricketer
Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar’s wedding had been the talk of the town for many years thanks to the sizzling extravagance of the celebration. The couple spared no expense in making their wedding a true event of a lifetime. In fact, it had all the elements of a fairytale wedding – English countryside, grand Indian palaces and a lavish wedding platter. It was all so perfect, but in spite of all the bucks that were spent and even earned (by selling exclusive media rights), the marriage barely lasted three years. It was a classic example to prove the point that money can get honey but not lasting love. This is all that Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar’s wedding sadly ended up being all about. Let’s take a closer look at their wedding story.
Who Is Arun Nayar?
Arun Nayar was born in December 1964 to an Indian father and a German mother. His parents separated when Arun was still young, and he stayed back with his brother and mother in Mumbai, where he grew up. Arun’s mother started her own textile and apparel business, which reached its peak in the 1970s, and this new-found wealth elevated the status of the family. Arun is now the heir to his mother’s flourishing multi-million textile business, and since his inheritance, has diversified his business into various other domains. Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar’s wedding happened mid 2007, post the wedding, Arun’s net worth is at $200 million, as of 2015.
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Liz Hurley – No Introduction Needed
Elizabeth Hurley, popularly known as Liz Hurley, was born in June 1965 in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. In her younger days, Elizabeth aspired to become a ballet dancer but later focused her attention on getting into modelling and then into films. She eventually entered films, and worked in theatre, mostly in British cinema, and also gained soaring popularity as a model. The company Estée Lauder named her representative of the premier fashion label at 29, and from that day there was no turning back for her. Liz Hurley continues to work as a model and has even started her own fashion line which she manages.
When Arun Met Liz In London
Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar’s wedding tale was sort of like any other tale of love you’d expect. Arun and Liz had their own share of serious relationships before they met one another. Arun was earlier married to an Italian model named Valentina Pedroni, with whom he had been in a relationship for 11 years. Liz, on other hand, was famously in relationship with the actor Hugh Grant whom she had met way back in 1987, when she was still an aspiring actress. Liz and Hugh had a pretty successful relationship but had a split on ‘amicable terms’ in May 2000. Following her split, Liz had a brief relationship with American businessman Steve Bing with whom she had a son in 2002. It was the same year that she happened to meet Arun Nayar.
Arun and Liz first met when they were introduced to each other by a common friend who had invited them both for a dinner in London. Since both were at the verge of exiting from their previous relationships, and were of almost the same age, they immediately struck a friendship. Liz and Arun made it a point to stay in touch, and the more they spent time with one another, the more they realised that they were quite compatible. Arun and Liz made their first public appearance in January 2003 at a fashion show in Paris. By this time, the two were already in a pretty serious relationship.
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The Road To Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar’s Wedding
The couple had eyed a truly resplendent grand wedding from the moment they decided to spend the rest of their lives together. But the preparations had to wait until Arun’s divorce from his previous wedlock. He was going through a lengthy divorce process, and therefore Liz and Arun waited for its conclusion before putting their wedding plans in place. Arun was invariably granted a divorce from his first wife in 2005, and on the same time the issue of Liz’s son’s paternity was also resolved with a DNA test proving it was Steve Bing’s son (he had earlier denied it). The path was clear of all the roadblocks, and it was time for the couple to embrace each other for eternity.
The duo decided to get hitched in early 2007. Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar’s wedding was set to two wedding ceremonies, a Christian one that would be held at Sudeley Castle in England followed by a lavish Hindu wedding at Umaid Bhawan Palace hotel in Jodhpur. It is said that Arun personally preferred Devigarh Palace near Udaipur, but since they were expecting over 100 guests, they decided to choose the Umaid Bhawan Palace because it could accommodate a large number of patrons. The couple chose March (2007) as the month for their two weddings.
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The Wedding Extravaganza
Arun and Liz had a Christian wedding at the medieval castle of Sudeley in Gloucestershire, England, on 5th March, 2007. Since the couple had struck a deal with a lifestyle magazine for exclusive images, the couple cordoned out the area restricting the entry of other reporters. The pair arrived in a Bentley and were quickly ushered into the venue that was brimming with over 200 guests. The guest-list included the who’s who of Britain, and included almost all the popular designers from Europe. Liz’s own wedding dress was designed by the famous designer Donatella Versace, and it was a simple yet elegant white chiffon gown complemented by a stunning diamond tiara. Arun was decked up in a dashing black tie wedding suit. The pair screened an entertaining short Bollywood-style romantic film starring themselves, before their wedding, which narrated their love story. The idea clicked well with the 200+ guests, who enjoyed every bit of it. Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar’s wedding was followed by a reception at the same castle that evening and the major highlight was the grand four-tier cake. The cake cutting was followed by five-course sumptuous meal for every guest present at the venue.
Arun Nayar and Elizabeth Hurley were now officially married, but still had the Hindu wedding at the Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur. The newly-weds arrived at Jodhpur on 7th March, 2007 in a chartered private plane and were immediately checked-in at their hotel venue. The couple had requested absolutely tight security from the hotel staff, and even local police chipped-in to provide ample cover to them.
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The Indian festivities of Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar’s wedding began with a sangeet ceremony on the evening of 8th March at Nagaur fort near Jodhpur, where even the newly-weds shook a leg. Apparently, the guests and the newly-weds slept in tents in the desert for that night after the celebrations. The dancing and singing was followed by the elaborate traditional Hindu wedding on 9th March inside the premises of the Umaid Bhawan Palace. Certain insiders later anonymously shared that there were around 200 guests at the venue, and each of them were requested to refrain from carrying mobile phones to prevent any photography. As for the main ceremony, it was almost a reprise of their English wedding, and Liz wore a pink Versace sari that was heavily encrusted with jewels, while Arun wore a white and gold sherwani with a matching turban. Since media was barred from attending the wedding, little is known about the nuances of the wedding but it was pure desi one.
The last event in the array of Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar’s wedding ceremonies was the reception, which was held at the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur. This event included mostly the same guests who had attended the wedding and some others as well. There was an additional reception held at Taj Hotel in Mumbai for Arun and Liz’s business partners and acquaintances. After this, the newly-weds packed their bags and left for rural England where they took a house in English countryside to have peaceful living together. Little did they know that just three years down the line, Arun and Liz’s picture-perfect matrimony would hit a rough patch thanks to to an Australian.
The Kiss That Marked The End Of Their Matrimony
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It was 2010, and Liz was attending a cricket match in London and was seated in the VIP area which also had the Australian cricketer Shane Warne among the attendees. The two greeted each other formally, spoke for some time, and in a blink of an eye were soon spotted smooching one another. Everything was quick, and the kiss got enough media attention thanks to heavy media presence at the cricket match. Needless to say, Liz had to do lot of explaining at home to Arun for something that was everywhere on the national television. But her act itself had some connotations, and could be have been the first signs of a strained relationship with her husband Arun. When the tabloids got into a frenzy and went around quizzing Liz about it, she denied anything happening between her and Shane. But things were obviously quite otherwise, and in December 2010, she announced that she had separated from her husband Arun months ago. Eventually, she filed for divorce in April 2011, which she was granted the same year in June. Arun is said to have been devastated by this event, and pulled back from public spotlight for months. Apparently, even Arun’s parents were upset by the couple’s divorce. Interestingly though, Liz had an argument with Arun’s father Vinod Nayar and his second wife, who is a British, during their wedding in Jodhpur, over a breach of Hindu customs, as Liz refused to take off her shoes at the wedding mandap. And that was where Liz’s relationship with her in-laws went down. Either way, the couple had now formally divorced, and Liz immediately moved out of Arun’s house with her son. It’s a tragedy that Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar’s wedding that was such a wonder turned into a sad ending.
Things After That
Liz went on to get engaged to Shane Warne in 2011, but two years down the line the couple called-off their engagement in 2013. She was then seen hanging around with Hugh Grant again in late 2014, but Liz insists it’s just platonic. Since then, Liz has not been known to be actively in a relationship with anyone.
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As for Arun, he went straight into the arms of British model Kim Johnson after his divorce in 2011. The couple courted for four years, and in 2015, the 51-year old Arun proposed marriage to the 29-year old Kim who gleefully agreed. Kim and Arun tied the knot in August 2016 with this one being Arun’s third marriage.
We hope Arun has finally found the love of his life, and hope Liz does find her ‘Mr. Right’ too. We wish them best for their life and all their ventures ahead.
Images Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
