Liz, Hugh... and Arun too - how does Ms Hurley's husband cope with three people in his marriage?
There is something irresistible about the nostalgic pleasure of a reunion: look at the warm reception for Take That and the Spice Girls. So what, you might ask, about Liz Hurley and Hugh Grant?
After they flew into New York together last week, they booked into the same hotel on the glamorous Upper East Side.
They both attended the designer Valentino's private dinner on Sunday night and lunched together in Barney's department store.
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The married couple are said to 'adore Darling Hugh' even though he is the third wheel in their marriage
The pair dislike the way people talk about them, which is why they have been trying to hide from the paparazzi.
They left the airport separately, and have been making sure they are not pictured together entering or leaving their hotel.
Newspapers which printed pictures of them on holiday recently in the Maldives - that time with Hurley's husband, Arun Nayar - were sent stern legal letters complaining of an "invasion of privacy".
Grant's prime motive for being in New York was to see his Andy Warhol portrait of Elizabeth Taylor sell at auction for £11.4 million - £9.4 million more than he paid for it in 2001.
And friends say Elizabeth's main reason for her visit was to attend the grand opening of the Chopard jewellery store on Monday night - Hugh did not go.
Being the oldest of friends, with a 12-year romance in their past and the shared connection that Hurley's son, Damian, is Grant's godson, it is not unnatural that they would spend a few days in each other's company while Arun is detained in Britain on business.
There are, however, flutterings of unease about this unusual set-up. Hurley's representatives were yesterday refusing to comment on the trip, as were Grant's.
So, what is going on? Why are they seeing so much of each other - and why would they rather keep it secret?
It is true that some people do manage to stay friends with former lovers, but to go on holiday as a threesome is surely unusual, as is spending a mini break in New York together.
Just how happy is Nayar to have his wife's handsome, successful, movie star ex parked so firmly on his turf?
Yet friends say the three are on incredibly cosy terms. As evidence, they have nicknames for each other.
Arun is called "Slick" - apparently, he has a ridiculously large collection of designer watches and cufflinks.
Elizabeth is known as "Minx" because she is regarded as an absolute sex bomb. And the third member of the triangle is, of course, "Darling Hugh".
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Hugh Grant was in New York with his ex Elizabeth Hurley - but they went to great lengths to not be pictured leaving the airport together
Nayar is apparently happy that Grant will always be a part of his married life. Indeed, when Hugh comes round for dinner at Elizabeth's lovely country home in Ampney Knowle, Gloucestershire, Nayar serves the best vintage wines for his guest, even though he does not drink himself.
He is the picture of selflessness and good manners, and his wife loves him for it.
"Hugh gets on well with Arun and they all like hanging out together," says an old friend of Elizabeth's (speaking on condition of anonymity because La Hurley has a sparky temper).
"It might seem a bit weird, but there's nothing remotely untoward about the whole thing - honestly."
It is true that since Grant and Hurley split up in May 2000, their relationship has ebbed and flowed - especially when Grant struggled with his romance with Jemima Khan.
Perhaps Liz and Hugh managed to stay friends because their break-up petered out rather than being a sudden schism: Grant called it a "long, slow slide to oblivion".
Indeed, Elizabeth admitted that after their split, they struggled to avoid phoning each other every night to "check in", which had been their habit when they were an item. It seems they almost forgot they were no longer together.
And so they remained, though it is a dreadful old cliche, the best of friends.
Grant supported Elizabeth unstintingly when her life fell apart after she got pregnant and was promptly dumped by film producer Steve Bing.
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Hugh Grant and Liz Hurley when they were a couple in the 1990s - they are still very close
Darling Hugh was there for the pre-natal scans, he was delighted to be invited to be the godfather and he counselled Liz through her unpleasant legal wrangles with Bing.
"Hugh has been absolutely the best," she gushed at the time.
And, despite protestations by Grant that he doesn't want a family and does not understand children, he has taken his duties as godfather seriously.
He is also a friendly uncle figure to Liz's nephew, taking him to watch cricket at Lord's last summer.
And now Damian goes to school in London, Grant is sure to see even more of him.
Even after Hurley met Nayar in 2002, she would still make time to attend high-profile social events with Grant.
This has continued, with lunches at Elton John's villa in Nice, a mini break in St Moritz with Damian and nanny in tow - not forgetting long dinners at the Ivy restaurant in London with old friends such as socialite Tim Jefferies, and nights out in Chelsea with social butterflies such as Trinny Woodall. All without Nayar.
Partly, this is because he has often been absent on family business in Mumbai, especially in the early years of his relationship with Liz, as he struggled to get his software business off the ground.
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Liz Hurley with husband Arun Nayar and her son Damian who she calls 'Master Damian'
Grant was left to be Hurley's walker - and he slotted into her social circle with ease.
When Liz decided to move to the country four years ago, it was clear the distance would not deter Grant from visiting.
While the house was being renovated, all three - Grant, Hurley and Nayar - ended up staying in the local hotel, Barnsley House, for an extended time.
Hugh's country life has not ended there - he seems to enjoy Elizabeth's luxurious rural habits (there is a staff of five in her house) and has even managed to take an interest in her Herdwick sheep and Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs.
(Locally, there is some regret that Hurley has dropped out of the Gloucestershire Old Spot Pig Breeders' Club this year. "We would welcome her back," the secretary says optimistically.)
It was even whispered that it was Grant - not Nayar - who helped Hurley to pick out the colours for the master bedroom.
By all accounts, Grant is a wickedly diverting guest. He generally arrives in one of his "ridiculous" sports cars, full of daring gossip about the sex secrets of Hollywood big shots.
And when Hurley, now 42, pulls on her wellies and plays the ohsogrand country chatelaine, he is quite at ease.
In their early days in Los Angeles, Grant and Hurley used to style themselves after the novels of Evelyn Waugh as "the Viles".
Hurley, who is from a solidly middle-class background in Basingstoke, Hampshire, has taken on a Mitford girl poshness.
She calls her son "Master Damian" and describes Arun, as if she were the lead in a Twenties play, as "simply heaven".
She cooks nursery favourites such as cottage pie and beef stew, and calls her mother Angela for advice on making jam.
Some gossips say Nayar is "intimidated" by this upper-class atmosphere, and think he cannot compete with Grant and Hurley's social posturing.
Hurley fuelled this theory when she mused: "Arun thought I was joking when he first saw me slither into my wellies."
But speaking to those who know the couple, a different picture emerges. Arun (Hurley pronounces his name A-roooon) is an Oxford graduate like Grant and, in his own quiet way, every bit as self-assured as the actor.
"It is Arun who is from a grand, moneyed background," says a friend of the pair.
"Even though he's terribly gentle and quiet, he is sophisticated and self-assured," the friend adds. "I mean, he reads Christie's auction catalogues in bed. I don't think Hugh scares him at all."
It may be that Nayar rests so easy because he realises there is absolutely no possibility the Grant-Hurley romance will be rekindled.
"That ship has sailed," says one of Liz's friends.
Some in the Grant-Hurley camp even suggest their romance was not exclusive, even from the start. There were widespread rumours that neither tried too hard to resist onset temptations.
In one interview in the early Nineties, Grant seemed determined to shock. "Sometimes, when Liz and I check into hotels we pretend to be brother and sister and then we share the double bed. The whole idea of incest is quite appealing."
Hugh seemed to have a phobia of becoming "normal" - or, as Liz would put it, "civilian".
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Hugh Grant is said to despair of finding his big love and was recently pictured with students at St Andrews University in this compromising position
As Hugh grew older, though, and particularly when he lost his mother, Fynvola, to cancer in 2001, he began to appreciate the values he had been brought up with: kindness, a moral compass, intelligence and family life.
He saw his elder brother, Jamie, married and with children, and thought it appealing on some levels.
But in Elizabeth he had a partner who aspired to none of these things - he joked she had so little maternal feeling he wouldn't trust her with a pet rabbit.
And so when the physical side of the romance drifted away, neither of them bothered to put it right.
There was a feeling - on both sides - that they could easily have stayed together for another 40 years, but that perhaps they should try being free and starting over with new partners.
The only serious cloud over their friendship came when Grant finally found a long-term girlfriend, Jemima Khan.
Her relationship with Hurley quickly became fractious. She was furious when Liz casually said during a TV interview that Grant was not engaged, because she would know if he was.
She was even more annoyed by the phone relationship between the former lovers.
In turn, Hurley complained to friends that she thought Jemima followed Grant from room to room, standing next to him when he spoke on the phone.
It seems clear Jemima was unhappy over their continued flirtatious behaviour - the incident where Hurley playfully sucked Grant's finger at one of Elton John's parties almost finished off the relationship in 2005.
Things were so frosty that Grant turned down an invitation to Liz's gigantic, transcontinental Hello! sponsored wedding because he knew Jemima would find it uncomfortable to attend.
Ironically, he had split from Jemima by the time of the nuptials, but still didn't feel it would be good manners to parachute himself into the event. Each must regret that absence now, as the friendship once more takes centre stage in their lives.
So, it is not surprising that Liz and Hugh's relationship has gone from strength to strength since this spring, when Jemima was no longer in the picture.
Gossips suggest Hurley asked Grant to come on the most recent holiday as consolation after the embarrassment of his night out in St Andrews, when he was pictured kissing teenage students, looking the worse for wear.
"She wanted to cheer him up," says a friend.
There is also a suggestion that Liz is hoping to match-make Hugh with one of her friends - she is trying to find a woman who might be a good age for him (he is 47) and have the right pedigree.
Maybe she will be successful - though Grant complains it is impossible to meet the right woman and seems to have given up on having a happy ending of his own.
All that Hurley will say is that she loves Grant no matter what. "I am sure we will adore each other until the day that one of us dies," she said in an interview just before her wedding to Arun. What greater devotion could you ask for than that?
Liz, Hugh... and Arun too - how does Ms Hurley's husband cope with three people in his marriage? | the Daily Mail
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