Stunning Elen Rives is moving out of their London home with
their two children. A pal said: “The passion has gone.” Elen gave
the England ace the boot after a heartbreak holiday away from him
in Florida, we can reveal. When she returned the Chelsea star
pleaded with his fiancee to stay with him for the sake of their
little daughters . . . but Elen, 30, insisted there was no way
back.
Now Lampard has bought her a house ten minutes from their £3
million family home so he can stay close to Luna, two, and
one-year-old Isla. His spokesman told us last night: “No one else
is involved.” But the wayward midfielder, also 30, has twice been
caught cheating on Elen since they got together in 2001. And a pal
close to the couple said: “It’s the saddest thing Elen’s ever had
to do, but the love has gone.
“She was the one who ended it and she’s the one who’s moving
out. “Frank will continue to play a very active role in his
children’s lives and see them every day. But he and Elen have grown
apart. The passion has gone out of the relationship.
“There have been no huge rows—though obviously there were
massive problems when he was splashed over the papers with other
women.” The split comes 19 months after the News of the World
caught the midfielder picking up a mystery brunette at a Las Vegas
casino. And just nine months before that he bedded blonde driver
Montserrat Lucas, 36, behind the back of sultry beauty Elen.
Our source said: “Elen’s a sensitive, bright and proud woman who
hated the humiliation of Frank’s betrayal but was prepared to give
it another go.
“However, in recent months they have drifted apart.” Ex-model
Elen finally made up her mind during a sunshine break in Florida
last month with the children, a friend and nanny.
While she bronzed herself on the beach, Lampard—whose form has
nosedived—was enduring a humiliating 3-0 Chelsea defeat at the feet
of arch-rivals Manchester United.
Lampard was last seen out with his family in December at the
Winter Wonderland attraction in London’s Hyde Park. In January, he
and Elen enjoyed a last public meal at Knightsbridge restaurant
Zuma as the Chelsea team bade farewell to Manchester City-bound
defender Wayne Bridge, 28.
That night, Elen went on with him to the swanky Whisky Mist
nightclub on Park Lane but left early while Lampard and his pals
lived it up in the VIP area. The source went on: “Even then things
between them weren’t looking great. “Elen left without Frank. Then
he and the guys spent a fortune on drinks and were obvious targets
for a lot of single women.
“Frank was getting attention but seemed perfectly well-behaved.
With his track record, though, Elen must always have a nagging
doubt.” That track record kicked off in December 2006 when
Lampard—who had previously been caught on film while single in 2000
enjoying an orgy at a Cyprus hotel—bedded driver Montserrat
‘Montse’ Lucas in Elen’s home city Barcelona.
Montse said: “One minute he was showing me photos of his family,
the next we were in bed. “The pictures were of his baby girl Luna
and her mother Elen. I loved the fact that he was so proud of his
daughter—it’s something any woman finds very sweet. “But he seemed
quite drunk, and I couldn’t tell if it was lust for me or he’d been
drinking a lot.”
In July 2007, just two months after Isla’s birth, the News of
the World caught Lampard in a tryst with a dark-haired East
European beauty in her thirties. He picked her up at the blackjack
table of the five-star Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas.
Sobs
After the couple spent more than two hours alone in a suite
together, grinning Lampard emerged with his arm around her at about
2am.
As they strolled back to the gaming tables Lampard looked about,
then tenderly stroked the girl’s shoulder before kissing her
goodnight on the cheek and heading off to find his pals.
But just minutes later the beauty’s smiles turned to sobs when
the News of the World told her the truth about her dashing date.
With tears streaming down her face, she said: “He didn’t tell me he
had a girlfriend and two daughters. This is terrible.”
Elen reacted to the revelations by giving back the engagement
ring Lampard gave her in June, 2004.
But, again, she forgave him and they patched things
up.
The agony of their split could hardly contrast more with the
elation the soccer star felt about finding love with Elen in April
2002.
Describing how he first laid eyes on “intelligent, funny,
intuitive” divorcee Elen—his first proper girlfriend—Lampard said:
“Elen stopped me in my tracks. We met in a nightclub through mutual
friends.
“A seething, noisy throng is not the ideal start to a
relationship, yet the moment I saw her I was smitten.” Their
relationship started shortly after Lampard’s £11 million transfer
from West Ham United to Chelsea, and he credits it with making him
a man.
In his book, Totally Frank, he said: “I knew Elen was right for
me—my heart was shouting it out.” Last year the star suffered
personal heartache with the sudden death of his mother Pat last
April.
Our source said: “Frank may well have moved on but Pat’s death
left him needing his family more than ever. “There are a lot of
factors behind the break-up. It’s enormously sad. Elen will move
out very soon. Obviously Frank will make sure the kids don’t want
for anything. It is all very amicable.”
The couple also have a £4million detached home in Esher, Surrey,
as well as the London townhouse. “They are not married—so there is
no messy divorce to go through,” said the source. “This is as
straightforward a break-up as you can get.”
A spokesman for Lampard confirmed the split to the News of the
World. He said: “Frank and Elen have separated. No one else is
involved—they have simply grown apart. This is private matter and
they won’t be making any further comment.”