'We never argue': Inside Elizabeth Hurley's very close relationship with model son Damian
Most mothers and their teenage sons don't enjoy the same things.
They don't echo each others' high-fashion clothing taste, praise one another extravagantly on Instagram, or fly around the world to pose hand-in-hand for photographers.
Most mums and sons, however, are not Elizabeth and Damian Hurley. Actor and businesswoman Elizabeth, 56, is so close to Damian, 19, he has even snapped her in her own line of bikinis, frolicking by a pool, and, she says, they have "never had a row".
This week, they arrived together at haute couture spectacle Milan Fashion Week. Elizabeth wore cleavage-baring Versace with gold spike heels, while her son wore a slim Versace jacket that revealed most of his torso. Both allowed their flowing hair to fall in waves past their shoulders.
Hurley has had a longstanding association with Versace after hitting headlines in what became known as "that" dress at the premiere of Four Weddings And A Funeral in 1994. The safety-pinned creation was recently reworked for model Damian to wear in a photoshoot.
Damian has been modelling since he turned 17 in campaigns for makeup artist Pat McGrath, and his striking resemblance to his mother has been noted.
"A supermodel is born," said McGrath. "It’s no surprise that as the offspring of the iconic Elizabeth Hurley, Damian is a bright, young, emerging star who has an absolutely magnetic personality, energy and an exceptional look."
The son of businessman Steve Bing, who died by suicide last year, Damian grew up the only child of a single mum, though is reportedly very close to Hurley's ex-husband Arun Nayer, a textiles heir.
Raised in the spotlight, on set with his mum and mingling with her famous friends, he recently recalled: “Our parents love to say that Brooklyn Beckham and I were caught raiding and trying on our godfather Elton John’s sunglasses when we were extremely young.”
He's also friends with fellow supermodels.
“Naomi Campbell is a force of nature, I worship her," he said. "She went out of her way to look out for me when we worked together last year and I’m always blown away by her professionalism. (And) Helena Christensen is the sexiest woman on the planet.”
In interviews, mother and son speak glowingly of one another, making it clear just how similar they are.
“Both my mother and I are incredibly scruffy by nature. The second we’re not being photographed, we revert to slobbery with alarming ease,” Damian has said.
"Yes, we’re very close. Thank goodness, because it’s really just the two of us," Elizabeth said. "Of course, he’s left me streets behind because he’s young and knows everything, but otherwise we have the same sensibility, which is great."
They look like one another – 'I’ve got some pictures of me around his age where there are a lot of facial similarities' – and they behave like each other too, according to an interview with You magazine.
"We’ve got each other’s backs, always," said the elder Hurley.
"We’ve never had a horrible fight, we’re never rude to each other and I’ve always encouraged him to speak up when something is annoying or upsetting him. I try really hard to avoid stony silence."
Watch: Elizabeth Hurley, 56, has summer fun as she poses on a bike in a blue bikini
Read more: Elizabeth Hurley hits back at critics of snow photoshoot after Piers Morgan’s ‘creepy’ comment
"I rather think I’ve simply been blessed with a child whose personality gels with mine...it's definitely nature not nurture."
Damian now works with his mother's fashion team, saying, “I just shot with...part of the team that photographed some of my mum’s coolest editorials, and we’ve wanted to work together for ages."
He even appeared in her E! soap opera, The Royals, playing the specially-created role of Prince Hansel of Lichtenstein.
Though she 'took the first eight years of his life off from acting', The Austin Powers actor said, "being on set is where he’s happiest," adding that she was "amazed at just how good he was."
Though some commentators called various photos taken by a teen son of his bikini-clad mum 'creepy', both have dismissed the shoots as light-hearted fun.
"Damian is a great photographer, and he instinctively knows what younger people want to see, but that’s all." Said Hurley. "I can assure you I do not drag him to Mauritius every weekend to take my picture."
Damian appears highly confident in the body department himself, recently telling Tatler Magazine, "I spend far too much of the summer naked. I love the sun and hate tan lines."
Elizabeth wrote "Glorious child" with three heart emojis under Damian's own recent swimwear post.
At home in Hurley's Hertfordshire mansion during lockdown, the two enjoyed watching 'something scary' on Netflix - "Given I’m a single mother and he’s an only child, by default we spend a lot of time together and we are utterly comfortable in each other’s company."
Now, however, Damian has left home to pursue his modelling career, and Elizabeth recently said, "I feel it’s the right time. There is going to be a big difference, for sure, but it is the natural order and the way of the world."
Damian was cut out of his billionaire father's will, which reportedly left him $180 million, by his paternal grandfather, despite Steve Bing making contact with Damian shortly before his died. The ruling was later overturned.
In response, Damian shared an instagram picture of himself and his mother, captioned ‘Grateful for my beautiful family, today and every day.'
Watch: Elizabeth Hurley slips into a revealing bikini ahead of her 56th birthday
