As the daughter of Formula 1 founder Bernie, Tamara Ecclestone has been in the limelight for her entire life – celebrating her milestone 40th birthday last summer.
However, the heiress’s wealth and privilege have attracted years of unwanted attention from trolls, and led to a terrifying £25 million robbery at her London family home five years ago – something that left Tamara terrified for the safety of her daughters Fifi, now 10, and Serena, four.
But behind her uber-glamorous life, Tamara has always put her journey as a mother, and advocating for other mums, first – a passion that has seen her speak out about breastfeeding her daughters beyond their fourth birthdays.
And now she says turning 40 last year has left her feeling more empowered and confident than ever. She tells Closer, ‘I feel turning 40 is a very liberating experience and you don’t really worry about things that you did in your twenties. I would never want to go back in time.
‘I feel very secure and comfortable in my own body, and my focus is my family. I feel like I’m in a really great place, and I’ve loved turning 40. It’s not been daunting – it’s only been positive.’
On being trolled over her breastfeeding for almost a decade, Tamara adds, ‘I think as women you get flack for everything, whether it’s that or something else, and to be honest, it’s really water off a duck’s back at this point.’
One of Tamara’s biggest fans is her husband of 12 years, businessman Jay Rutland, and she admits that humour is the secret to their long-lasting marriage.
She says, ‘I know it sounds really cheesy, but we genuinely are like the best of friends, and we’re quite opposite in a way, so I feel like we balance each other out.
‘We make each other laugh, and after a while I just think that really is important. You hear it, and I know it’s a cliché and sounds so corny, but it’s really true.’
While there’s been a sweeping trend of celebrity vow renewals over the past few years, Tamara is adamant that she won’t be walking down the aisle again after throwing an ‘all-white’ party in the French Riviera when she and Jay tied the knot in 2013. She jokes, ‘No! Everyone I know who has done that... it ended really badly, so no. We met 12 years ago, and we’re both just really comfortable and secure, and we don’t see the need.’
And while she appears not to have completely drawn a line under having a third child, Tamara says she won’t be freezing her eggs.
‘No, no, no! I think whatever will be, will be in life,’ she smiles. ‘I don’t know, because I’ve just turned 40 and I’ve got two amazing little girls, I just consider myself really lucky, and I’m happy for now, I think.’
However, the Ecclestone family is currently abuzz with babies, with Tamara’s sister, mum-of-four Petra, revealing last week that she wanted to adopt in the ‘near future’, and their 94-year-old dad welcoming his fourth child, four-year-old Ace, in 2020 – just a month before Tamara gave birth to Serena.
She doesn’t flinch at her father being a new-ish dad at 94, and says being pregnant at the same time as her stepmum, businesswoman Fabiana Flosi, 47, was ‘a really bonding experience.’
Tamara says, ‘It was actually really nice because it was during Covid, so it was nice to have someone to go through that with, because obviously in lockdown you didn’t get to see people. It was nice that we were both in Switzerland, and it was actually a really bonding experience – it was lovely. We had the same doctor, and it was really good. She went first, so she was the guinea pig, and then it was me!’
Speaking about her little brother, she adds, ‘He’s amazing! We just had lunch today, and he’s so smart – he’s really special.’
Looking forward to the year ahead, Tamara admits that, while she starred in two of her own reality series – 2011’s Tamara Ecclestone: Billion $$$ Girl and 2017’s Tamara’s World – her schedule as a busy mum of two and owner of baby care brand Fifi & Friends leaves her little time to waltz onto the likes of Strictly Come Dancing.
‘Never,’ she laughs. ‘They’ve asked me, but I would never do it. I hate dancing. I love the show but, personally, for me, I could never do it. I’ve got two left feet.’
On whether she would follow in the footsteps of celebrity mums like Coleen Rooney and Giovanna Fletcher into the I’m A Celebrity!jungle, Tamara adds, ‘I was asked a while ago, but I couldn’t leave my kids. Maybe when they’re older – who knows? I might write another book, but, right now, I’m happy being a busy mum, it’s great.’
Tamara was in attendance at the Autosport Awards in London to mark their 75th anniversary