Kelly Brook Challenges Jason Statham
Kelly Brook has shared a revealing story about her past relationship with Jason Statham, where she admitted to punching him after catching him flirting with a “sexy” Hollywood star. The Big Breakfast star and former glamour model, now 45, dated the Fast & Furious actor from 1998 until 2004, even becoming engaged before their relationship ended.
She decided to break up with Jason, who is now 58, after they moved to the US together, just as his career was gaining momentum. While Kelly is now happily married to Italian model and actor Jérémy Parisi since 2015, she recently appeared on the How to Fail podcast, where she opened up about her high-profile relationships over the years.
Back in 2014, when she released her memoir, Close Up, she detailed a tense moment between herself and Jason when he flirted with Hollywood A-lister Gwyneth Paltrow during Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s wedding. According to Kelly, Jason started to swing his hips and do a little jive while saying, “Gywnnie, Gwynnie, Gwynnie. Sexy, sexy, sexy!” She then turned around and punched him in the face.
During the podcast, Kelly spoke about learning to set boundaries after being a “people-pleaser.” She said she had become more “selfish” as she grew older. When asked by host Elizabeth Day what that involved before meeting her husband, Kelly reflected on her relationship with Jason.
“I think definitely in my first relationship, there were elements of co-dependency,” she said. “There were elements of me putting my career and life on hold. I had a really good job at MTV, where I was hosting a daily show, which was just after I got fired from The Big Breakfast.”
She recalled that her boyfriend at the time was an actor who had been offered roles, such as a bouncer on the door in EastEnders. “He had so much talent and charisma, and I was like, ‘you know what, we have to go to America,’” she remembered.
Kelly went on to share how Jason’s career flourished while hers began to “flounder a bit” because she didn’t have the same opportunities. “I was flying back and forth between the UK and LA. It was quite taxing and expensive and exhausting,” she said.
“His career just took off, and it became the most incredible thing. But because I did so much and didn’t look after myself, I felt neglected in that dynamic. I fell out of love with him in the end because he hadn’t shown up for me like I’d shown up for him.”
She added that Jason asked, “Why are you leaving now?” as if he couldn’t understand why she would leave him despite being a movie star and millionaire. Kelly responded, “You just haven’t been there.”
Reflecting on her decision to walk away, Kelly said that Jason “hadn’t been there” for her, adding that she felt the need to “become a woman.” “During this process, I became a woman, and I don’t think he knew who I was anymore. It was a really hard time. But I think it was the first time where I really did something for myself, and it was the best decision.”
When asked if the person in question was Jason Statham, she confirmed, “Yes, I think everyone kind of knows. I’m not saying anything that isn’t in the public domain anyway.”
Jason later met model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, with whom he has been in a relationship since 2010 and shares two children. After starring in Guy Ritchie’s films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, his career took off, leading to roles in The Bank Job, The Expendables, and the Fast & Furious franchise.
He has since been credited with leading the resurgence of action films during the 2000s, with his movies grossing over $8.5 billion. The actor is now estimated to be worth around $100 million.
In the How to Fail interview, Kelly also discussed the “interesting chapter” of dating younger men during her thirties. “I think that was more of my maternal side coming out,” she said. However, she believed those guys were likely with her for the fact that she was on television and a famous woman.
After breaking up with Jason, Kelly dated rugby players Thom Evans and Danny Cipriani.
In 2010, she met her now-husband after stumbling across a photo of him online. “I thought he was the most beautiful looking man I’d ever seen,” she said. After following him on social media, the pair started chatting and were friends for six months before romance blossomed.
Although Jeremy didn’t speak English when they met, Kelly said he learned it fluently when they started talking. “He just made so many sacrifices to be with me, which were, in my eyes, just the sheer definition of love. We are 10 years in now. It’s been the most incredible 10 years of my life.”
This weekend, Kelly will also be seen on screens again in the upcoming season of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! While she is “terrified” of the challenge, she added she was looking at it as an “empowering” way to tackle her phobias.
