Tamara Ecclestone and her husband Jay Rutland have said that their marriage is stronger than ever - and have revealed they want another baby. Speaking exclusively to HELLO! in February 2017, the daughter of billionaire entrepreneur Bernie Ecclestone gushed: "Jay has a really good sense of humour and has his own opinions. He's funny with it – he's not arrogant. It's endearing." Tamara and Jay tied the knot on the French Riviera in 2013, just six months after meeting. Their marriage came under scrutiny in 2016, when property developer Jay was accused – and later cleared – of helping a drug dealer evade capture years earlier.
While the episode was no doubt taxing, the couple insisted that there was no truth to reports that they were on the verge of splitting up. "I know the truth and it only bothers you if there’s any truth to it," revealed Jay. "It's like water off a duck’s back now and it annoyed me rather than bothered me because I had people ringing me asking if everything was all right. And I'd say, 'Yes, everything's fine.'"
In the same tumultuous year, Tamara and Jay were shaken when a gang kidnapped Bernie's mother-in-law in her native Brazil and threatened to behead her unless the tycoon paid a $36½million (£28million) ransom. Luckily, she was rescued unharmed. "It was really stressful," said Tamara. "It was something so out of the ordinary, shocking and disturbing. Thank God she was okay. But it was definitely a frightening time. I can't imagine what my dad's wife was going through, worrying about what would happen to her mum." She added: "Just thinking it could have been any of us was pretty unsettling. We have security and I do everything I can to make sure we're safe and protected at all times but it's definitely frightening. It's the fear of the unknown."
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Tamara has always been close to her dad, who is now married to his third wife, Fabiana Flosi. Jay also has a good relationship with him. "We get on really well, good as gold," he shared. Tamara and Jay met in January 2013 on a blind date arranged by a mutual friend and were engaged a month later after Jay proposed on bended knee. Was it love at first sight? "I think it was for Tamara," quipped her husband. Sophia – whose nickname is Fifi - came along the following year and the subject of having another baby is one that comes up "on a daily basis", according to Jay.
"I would have another one tomorrow," he said. "In an ideal world I'd like three." Tamara teased: "I can tell you now that three isn't happening. I do want another child but 2017 isn't the year. You never know what's going to happen in the future but right now I'm so consumed with Sophia and I’m still breastfeeding. I personally don’t feel ready. My body doesn't feel ready. When I got pregnant with her I really, really wanted it and I was so excited and prepared, so I think I will know when the time is right. I would love to give her a gift that no one else can – a sibling – but it has to be the right time."
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"Every psychic I've seen said we’re going to have one more and it will be a boy," she added. "But I don't see them anymore. Jay doesn't believe in psychics and mediums. He thinks you shouldn't live your life around what you think is going to happen." Tamara has been open about the fact she still breastfeeds Sophia, who also shares her parents' bed, and says she is happy to continue indefinitely.
"I'll carry on until she's done," the mum-of-one explained. "Jay mocks me, but he is supportive. He has Crohn's disease and it is proven that breastfeeding lowers your chances of getting diseases like that. But I feel it's not all about nutrition; it's more about a bond. Fifi is so outgoing and isn't clingy at all but this is her comfort." Jay agreed: "I am supportive and I do think it's for the best." Tamara conceded that she's "obsessed" with her daughter, so much so that she and Jay haven't spent a night away from her because Tamara doesn't want to leave her.
"She's got me wrapped around her little finger but I’m a bit stricter than Tamara," he said, while Tamara added: "He's in it for the good times; he's the fun dad. He swings her around and puts her on his shoulders and tickles her. But he was never into nappy changes. I'm definitely not the strict one. I don't really believe in reprimanding children. I'm like a hippy. I'm so liberal and I don’t believe in the naughty step. She’s got such a personality and I don’t want to curb it. As long as she knows not to hurt people and isn’t aggressive then it’s nice to be spirited."
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