Tamara Ecclestone's daughter, 10, has heartbreaking reaction to shocking £25m house burglary
Tamara Ecclestone has opened up about her burglary agony after admitting she doesn’t feel safe in her London mansion. The socialite and daughter of F1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone was left traumatised after robbers stole £25m worth of cash, jewellery and gems from her home in 2019 – one of the UK’s biggest domestic burglaries.
Speaking about the ordeal during an exclusive chat at the Autosport Awards in Camden, where Tamara was supporting dad Bernie, the 40-year-old admits it’s not been an easy thing to move on from. “It has been tough, I’ve had to adjust and put measures in place to make myself feel as secure as possible. Sadly, London is a scary place and lots of my friends have experienced similar things,” she tells us.
Tamara lives in the upmarket West London borough of Kensington with her husband Jay Rutland and their two children, 10-year-old Sophia and Serena, four. The family were on holiday in Lapland when their home, which sits on the borough’s half-mile long “Billionaires’ Row”, was broken into.
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In November 2021, Jugoslav Jovanovic, Alessandro Maltese and Alessandro Donati were jailed for a total of 28 years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to burgle. Former England footballer Frank Lampard and his wife Christine were also victims of the gang, with the pair being robbed of £60,000 worth of watches and jewellery.
Previously, Tamara admitted that she didn’t tell eldest daughter Sophia what had really happened, in a bid to protect her. “We lied to her when it happened because she was young, but she found out anyway,” said Tamara last year. Now, she tells us it’s not been easy for Sophia and the family have worked to make their daughter feel comfortable at home again.
“She did struggle, so we’ve just been trying to make it as safe as possible at home and just move forward,” Tamara
says. “There’s nothing we can do about it. We have talked a lot about it to her and she’s in a much better place. But seeing her even have those thoughts at such a young age was really hard to cope with.”
Tamara previously admitted she and husband Jay, 43, who stands supportively by her side during our interview, thought about moving abroad following the robbery, but have decided to remain in London. “I just felt violated. We thought about moving house or moving country. It definitely made me feel that things aren’t always as they appear,” she has said.
As we chat with Tamara on the red carpet, where she’s joined by sister Petra and their dad Bernie, the doting mum admits she struggles to leave her children at home.
“I miss my kids when I go out like this, I never want to be away from home. Being a mum is the main thing in my life,” says Tamara. Clearly family-orientated, Tamara has also been focusing on work over the last few months as she tells us of her excitement following the launch of her new picture book, Fifi & Friends: The Super Car Race .
“The book launched just before Christmas, so I’ve been focusing on that. Being a mum and having my book are the two things going on at the moment,” she adds. Tamara’s writing career kicked off after she previously worked as a model and tried her hand at reality television with her own ITV1 show, Tamara’s World.
As motorsport giants squeeze past us on the bustling red carpet, Tamara explains that her evening is all about supporting Bernie, who founded the Formula One Group back in 1987. “I’m here tonight to support my dad, it’s nice to spend time with him,” she beams. Tamara is Bernie’s second born. The 94-year-old is also dad to Deborah, 69, whom he had with first wife Ivy Bamford; Petra, 36, who, alongside Tamara, he shares with second wife Slavica Radic; and Ace, four, who he and current wife Fabiana Flosi welcomed in 2020.
And while he may be a big name in the industry, Tamara laughs that her dad isn’t so good when it comes to the spotlight. “He hates to be the centre of attention, he’s a really introverted person and doesn’t like taking any glory, but he deserves it.”
One person who is keen to give Bernie all the glory is Tamara’s daughter Sophia, who she says has an “incredibly close” bond with her grandfather. “They have a lovely relationship,” says Tamara. “She knows what he does and thinks it’s really cool.
“She definitely knows he’s famous and I think she’s very proud of that. Although she doesn’t think I’m famous at all!” No one better humbles you than your children, eh, Tamara?
