Made in Chelsea star in ‘hostile’ court fight for £5m share of estate left by mother’s ex-partner

A personal trainer who appeared on the reality TV show Made in Chelsea is involved in a “hostile” court fight for a share of a £38 million estate left by his mother’s ex-boyfriend.

Lonan O’Herlihy (pictured) is claiming a £5 million share of the estate of Hugh Taylor, with whom his mother had a relationship between 1995 and 2003. Mr Taylor married his wife Jennifer in 2010, and left the bulk of his estate to his widow when he died in 2019.

Now, Mr O’Herlihy is suing Mrs Taylor as executor of the estate, claiming his mother’s ex was a “father” figure to him as a child. He is demanding “reasonable provision” from the estate to the tune of £5 million, and seeking to bring his claim out of time on the basis that he didn’t have the knowledge or financial means to lodge a claim within the usual six-month deadline after Mr Taylor’s death.

But Richard Wilson KC, for Mrs Taylor, said the claim was “opportunistic” and should be refused, highlighting a specific list Mr O’Herlihy had sent to her in which he requested a £3 million property in Queen’s Gate Place, South Kensington, a 1969-70 Mercedes 280SL Pagoda worth £250,000, a Patek Philippe watch, a Melehior D’hondecoeter painting and £800,000 for the purchase of an investment property.

Arguing that permission to bring the claim should be denied, Wilson said:

“Not only is this the flimsiest of claims, it is brought well out of time, following a substantial delay and after the estate has been distributed, and there is no good reason for the claimant having failed to bring it sooner.”

Mr O’Herlihy says he needs the money to enable him to maintain an “appropriate” standard of living, with the High Court hearing that he grew up in Mr Taylor’s Tudor manor house and had his private school fees and university education paid by his mother’s then partner.

When the couple split, Mr O’Herlihy, now 36, remained close with Mr Taylor, he says, receiving “extravagant birthday gifts”, including a £5,000 watch and a £40,000 Audi. But the TV star says that he was gradually “cut out” of Mr Taylor’s life after he married wife Jennifer in 2010 and was “not permitted” by Mrs Taylor to attend his funeral in 2019.

He says his current financial state is “precarious” and is asking for a share of the estate worth £5 million under the 1975 Inheritance Act by way of maintenance to let him live the lifestyle he became accustomed to when under Mr Taylor’s wing.

Lawyers for Mrs Jennifer are fighting the case, labelling his claim “opportunistic” and slamming it as “a wish list of greed.”

The court heard that when Mr Taylor, a property dealer and classic car and aeroplane enthusiast, died in 2019, he left a net estate worth £38,540,357, including the proceeds of sale of his Grade-I listed Tudor mansion, Eastington Hall, near Upton upon Severn, Gloucestershire, which he bought for £3.15 million in 1997.

He had been in a “committed romantic relationship” with Mr O’Herlihy’s mother Pamela between 1995 and 2003. During that time she, Lonan and his brother Rogan lived as “a family unit,” O’Herlihy said, telling London’s High Court: “Hugh was a father to me and I was a son to him”.

Asking for “reasonable financial provision for Lonan’s maintenance,” his barrister Hugh Jeffery told the judge, Deputy Master William Henderson, that Mr Taylor had assumed “parental responsibility” for him and had maintained him financially until the age of 22 or 23. He continued:

“He gave Lonan every reason to expect continued support in a career in real estate. Lonan made important life choices including his university studies in reliance upon those assurances.”

Mr Taylor had paid him a monthly allowance of £500 until 2012, gave him his first car in 2006, given him a £5,000 watch for his 18th birthday and a £40,000 Audi for his 21st in 2010, said the barrister.

“Hugh’s considerable wealth derived principally from dealings in real estate. He discussed his business interests frequently with Lonan and promised that Lonan would assume management of various parts of the empire with a view to inheritance of the whole.”

There is a “marked contrast between the lifestyle that Lonan was brought up to expect and his present financial precarity,” he said, telling the judge the TV star has “no capital assets whatsoever” and owes debts of over £150,000.

The barrister also told the judge that Mr O’Herlihy was not invited to Hugh and Jennifer Taylor’s wedding in 2010 and has stated that after that she had “progressively cut me…out of Hugh’s life,” including not allowing him to attend the funeral.

“There is considerable hostility in this matter and the parties are far apart on numerous matters….The parties diverge on the qualitative nature of Hugh’s relationship with Lonan. Lonan says it was a loving and close relationship.”

Richard Wilson KC, for the widow, however said the claim was “opportunistic” and should be refused. “This is not a claim for reasonable provision for his maintenance,” he said. “It is his wish list of greed – houses, cars, watches – this is a world away from reasonable provision.

“His approach seems to be: this is a large estate, let’s give Mr O’Herlihy a big chunk of it.

“The claimant’s claim is truly fanciful. It is inconceivable that he would be awarded upon a claim for reasonable financial provision for his maintenance capital assets in excess of £5m, including two properties, a classic car, a luxury watch and a painting. These have nothing to do with the claimant discharging the costs of his daily living.

“Even if he were making more modest demands, the claim would be hopeless because, on any analysis, the claimant does not have any need for maintenance.

“The claimant is 36 years old, university educated, in good health, independent, earns circa £70,000pa net of tax, is without any dependants and should have good future earning prospects.

“Even if one accepts the claimant’s case that he was, for a period, a ‘child of the family’, this relationship ended in 2002 – some 17 years before the deceased’s death – when the deceased and Mrs O’Herlihy separated.”

He also insisted that Mr Taylor had “disavowed” any obligations to financially maintain Mr O’Herlihy in an email sent in 2012.

“In 2015, the deceased made his last valid will, leaving his estate to his wife, Mrs Taylor. This was a deliberate and reasonable choice for the deceased to make in the circumstances. The deceased’s wishes are a proper factor to take into account and there is no proper basis to interfere with them,” he told the judge.

The hearing continues.