'I was plain wrong': Hugh Grant backtracks on marriage and children views
Hugh Grant has done a U-turn on his long-held beliefs about marriage and children, admitting he was “plain wrong”.
The Love Actually and A Very English Scandal star married his partner Anna Eberstein, who he has three children with, last year and said he had put off family life “for too many decades”.
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Speaking to The Chris Evans Virgin Radio Breakfast Show on Monday morning, Grant, 59, cheerfully admitted to being wrong about his previous views.
He said: “Well, I was just plain wrong. I was wrong.
“And children, you know, I used to roll my eyes. People would say, 'Oh Hugh you don't understand it', but they were right.”
Grant also has two children with his ex-partner Tinglan Hong, and is godfather to ex-girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley’s son Damian.
He said of his wedding to Eberstein last year: “It was very nice getting married.
“It was another thing I put off too many decades. Very nice. Very nice being married.”
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In past interviews, Grant has been very vocal about his disdain for being somebody’s husband.
He told People magazine in 2015: “I'm not really a believer in marriage. I've seen very few good examples, maybe five, in my life, but I think otherwise it's a recipe for mutual misery.”
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When Grant’s fifth child was born in 2018, Hurley said that she thought becoming a father had made her ex into a slightly better person.
Appearing on US show Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, she said: “He's an enchanting dad. Really, really sweet.
“Having these kids has transformed him from a very miserable person into a fairly miserable person. It's improved him. He's gone up the scale.”
Grant, known for his roguish bachelor role in the Bridget Jones films, was interviewed by Chris Evans to promote his new movie The Gentlemen, alongside his co-star Matthew McConaughey.