Tamara Ecclestone unintentionally set up her sister Petra with her new fiancé Sam Palmer.
The 34-year-old heiress revealed that it was at dinner with her husband Jay Rutland – who she has four-year-old daughter Sophia Ecclestone Rutland with – that her sister Petra, who divorced her husband of six years James Stunt in 2017, met art dealer Sam, and admitted that had "never dreamt of anything romantic happening" between the pair.
In an interview with Hello! magazine, she said: "We hadn’t planned an introduction. About a year ago, Jay and I were in LA when Sam came to visit, but we never dreamt of anything romantic happening between him and Petra. None of us thought it would be a match made in heaven. Or any match to be honest.
"We were shocked when it happened but the best things in life are unexpected. I’m so pleased for Petra she deserves all the happiness in the world. "
The model went on to explain that she and 30-year-old Petra can’t wait to reunite in Los Angeles with Fifi and Petra’s kids, who she has with former husband James, Andrew, three, James, three and six-year-old Lavina.
She said: "We can’t wait, Fifi [Sophia] misses her cousins so much. She and Lavina love singing and dancing and putting on shows for us.
"Re-enacting ‘The Greatest Showman’ and ‘Frozen’. It reminds me of when Petra and I were little and we acted out the musical Annie. Fifi’s the bossy one like I was, and choreographs while we watch.
"I really miss Petra, selfishly i’d like her to come back to the UK, but she’s very happy in LA and I just want her to be happy."