This slightly obsessive approach to her work is a trait, Nicole admits, that she shares with Lewis. The couple met at an MTV awards ceremony in November 2007 and have been an item ever since – at least when their careers allow them.
Lewis is seven years her junior (she recently said their relationship was about ‘energy and spirit’ and that age wasn’t ‘relevant’) and sometimes looks a little awkward in her presence but, she insists, they are not only happy but perfectly matched.
‘We are very similar and can relate to one another a lot. We are both driven people who are serious about our work, so we are very supportive of the time we do have together. Finding time for each other can get complicated, but we find a way to work it out. And it just makes things more interesting when we do get together,’ she says with a nervous giggle.
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Nicole is understandably concerned about talking too much about her boyfriend – who is struggling to stay in the top ten of this year’s Formula 1 rankings – not just because she wants to be seen as a Pussycat Doll rather than a motor racing Wag but also because she is worried about her words being misinterpreted. Only last month she was mortified when she was misquoted as saying she was ready to marry Lewis.
‘Someone asked me a general question about what I wanted in ten years and whether my ambitions included a family and then the next day it was in all the papers that “Nicole wants to marry Lewis”, when that was the last thing I said. In ten years’ time.
Maintaining a private life when your relationship is public property is, she says, very difficult. ‘I understand that the interest in your private life is something that comes with the job you do, but when I am not on stage or performing I still find the paparazzi attention uncomfortable.
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‘Lewis and I hide out a lot and try to steer clear of places where we might be seen, but sometimes we get caught out. We were recently in the Italian village of Portofino – I had no idea the rest of the world was going to see me, I wasn’t dressed to impress – but then the next day it turned out that there were paps everywhere. It does make life a bit more stressful when your time together is so precious and they don’t leave you alone,’ she says.
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