Made in Chelsea star in court battle over mother’s ex-boyfriend’s £38million will

A Made in Chelsea TV star is locked in a “hostile” court battle over a £5m share in her mother’s “very rich” ex-boyfriend’s £38m estate.

But “posh PT” Lonan O’Herlihy is being accused of drawing up a “greed wish list” after being left out of the will of her mother’s millionaire former partner Hugh Taylor.

Well-known car and aircraft collector Mr Taylor died in 2019, leaving behind a fortune worth £38m – including classic cars, high-end properties and a World War II-era Hawker Hurricane aircraft – almost all of which passed to his widow Jennifer Taylor under a 2015 will.

However, Mr O’Herlihy – whose mother was with Mr Taylor between 1995 and 2003 – is now suing him as executor of the estate, claiming his mother’s former husband was a “father” to him as a child and is demanding “reasonable provision” of £5million from the estate.

The reality star and personal trainer – known as “The Posh PT” – says he needs the money to enable him to maintain a “reasonable” standard of living, telling the High Court at the hearing that he grew up in Mr Taylor’s Tudor manor home and that his private school fees and university education were paid for by his mother’s then-partner.

She says that even after she and her mother separated, Mr O’Herlihy, now 36, remained close to Mr Taylor and received “extravagant birthday gifts” from him, including a £5,000 watch and a £40,000 Audi.

But the TV star says he gradually “fell out” of Mr Taylor’s life after he married wife Jennifer in 2010 and that Jennifer “did not allow” him to attend his funeral in 2019.

He says his current financial situation is “precarious” and he is seeking a deduction from the £5million estate under the 1975 Inheritance Act for maintenance to allow him to live the lifestyle he had become accustomed to when he was under Mr Taylor.

But Jennifer’s lawyers are fighting the case, calling her claim “opportunistic” and dismissing it as a “wish list of greed.”

Reality TV star Mr O’Herlihy joined the ‘Made in Chelsea’ cast for its eight series in 2014.

He worked as a personal trainer in Knightsbridge, having many celebrity clients including Ed Westwick, who played Chuck Bass in the TV show ‘Gossip Girl’.

A graduate of both Malvern College and Oxford Brookes University, where he studied Real Estate, Mr O’Herlihy has also appeared as a cover star in Men’s Fitness magazine.

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

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

Seeking “reasonable financial provision for Lonan’s maintenance”, his barrister Hugh Jeffery told the judge, Deputy Master William Henderson, that Mr Taylor had taken “parental responsibility” for him and supported him financially until he was 22 or 23.

“He gave Lonan every reason to expect continued support in a career in real estate,” the barrister said.

“Lonan relied on those assurances to make important life choices, including his university studies.”

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

He further added, “Huey’s considerable wealth is derived primarily from real estate transactions.”

“He frequently discussed his business interests with Lonan and promised that Lonan would take over the management of various parts of the empire with a view to inheriting the entire empire.”

“There is a clear gap between Lonon’s lifestyle and his current financial precarity,” he said, telling the judge that the TV star “does not have any capital assets” and owed debts of more than £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 said that after that he “progressively excluded me from Hugh’s life”, including not allowing him to attend the funeral.

He added, “There is considerable animosity in this case and the parties are far apart on many issues…The parties differ on the qualitative nature of Hugh’s relationship with Lonan. Lonan says it was a loving and close relationship.”

However, Richard Wilson Casey, for the widow, said the claim was “opportunistic” and should be rejected, highlighting a specific list sent to him by Mr O’Herlihy.

This, he said, included a £3m property in Queen’s Gate Place, South Kensington, a 1969-70 Mercedes 280SL Pagoda worth £250,000, a Patek Philippe watch, a Melchior d’Hondecotter painting and £800,000 towards the purchase of an investment property.

He further said, “This is not a claim for proper provision for their maintenance.” “It’s the wish list of his greed – houses, cars, watches, it’s a world away from proper provision.

“Their approach seems to be: It’s a big property, let’s give a big chunk of it to Mr. O’Herlihy.

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

“Even if he were making a more modest demand, the claim would be hopeless because, on any analysis, the claimant has no need for maintenance.

“The claimant is 36 years old, university educated, in good health, independent, earns around £70,000 per annum, has no dependents and should have good future earning prospects.

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

He also stressed that Mr Taylor had “disclaimed” any obligation to financially maintain Mr O’Herlihy in an email sent in 2012.

“In 2015, the deceased made his last valid Will, leaving his property to his wife, Mrs Taylor. This was a deliberate and reasonable choice for the deceased to make in the circumstances. It is a reasonable factor to take into account the wishes of the deceased and there is no reasonable basis for interfering with them,” he told the judge.

Mr O’Herlihy is seeking permission to file his claim prematurely on the basis that he did not have the knowledge or financial means to file a claim within the normal six-month time limit following Mr Taylor’s death.

Arguing that permission should not be granted, Mr Wilson said: “Not only is this the weakest claim, it has been brought after a considerable delay in time and after the property had been delivered, and there is no good reason for the claimant failing to bring it sooner.”

The hearing is ongoing.