Made in Chelsea Star ‘secretly homeless’ due to £5m court fight with father figure’s widow

A Made in Chelsea TV star has been living a secret life of "homelessness and financial distress" caused by a fight over his mum's rich ex-boyfriend's £38m fortune, a court has heard.

Behind his "highly curated" social media feeds appearing to show an "opulent and carefree" lifestyle, "Posh PT" Lonan O'Herlihy has in fact lost his long term girlfriend and been made "homeless and dependent upon the generosity of friends to keep a roof over his head," London's High Court was told.

Mr O'Herlihy's author and painter mum Pamela was in a relationship with multimillionaire vintage car and plane collector Hugh Taylor between 1995 and 2003, a man the TV star claims was like "a father" to him.

After Mr Taylor died in 2019, leaving behind a £38m estate - including classic cars, high end properties and a Second World War era Hawker Hurricane aircraft, almost all of which went to his widow Jennifer Taylor - the reality star sued her, demanding "reasonable provision" from the estate to the tune of £5m.

But he told the High Court this week that so far the legal fight has brought him nothing but woe, blaming a split with his girlfriend and the loss of his home on an "extraordinarily aggressive approach taken by Jennifer's legal advisors" towards fighting the case.

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His barrister Hugh Jeffery told the judge, Deputy Master William Henderson: "Lonan is now in a precarious financial position. He has been able to make a reasonable income as a personal trainer...but he has no savings, no capital assets and very significant debts.

"Moreover, on account of the extraordinarily aggressive approach taken by Jennifer's legal advisors in this matter, he has split with his long term girlfriend; since March he has been homeless and dependent upon the generosity of friends to keep a roof over his head.

"He owed his now former partner Millie £28,994 for litigation and living expenses.

"In response to this disclosure, Jennifer's legal representatives took the extraordinary step of writing to Millie on 16 January 2025, threatening an application to seek a non-party costs order against Millie on the basis that Lonan 'seeks provision so that you will no longer be required to support him financially'.

"Lonan and Millie have since separated as a direct result of that letter. This left Lonan 'homeless' and in even more acute financial distress.

"Jennifer attempts to rely on Lonan's social media presence as evidence that he maintains an opulent and carefree lifestyle, an approach that confuses highly curated online content with reality.

"Lonan trusts that any court will look primarily to Lonan's bank statements and tax returns, which amply document his relatively modest means.

"Lonan is in real financial distress. On account of Jennifer's aggressive litigation conduct, he has separated from his long term partner, who was at the time lending him money to cover accommodation costs."

The court previously heard that, having had a relationship with Mr O'Herlihy's mum until 2003, the late Hugh Taylor had met and subsequently married Jennifer Taylor and was still with her when he died.

Under a will written in 2015, almost all of his money and properties, and his classic car and plane collection, went to his widow, leaving Lonan with nothing.

He is now suing for a £5m payout from the estate, claiming that he had remained close to Mr Taylor after the split with his mum, but that Mrs Taylor had "progressively cut" him from her new husband's life after they married in 2010.

Setting out the background to the spat, his barrister Mr Jeffery added: "In 2011, there was a lunch at (Mr Taylor's Tudor mansion) Eastington Hall to which Lonan was invited...at the lunch there was an argument. Jennifer 'screamed' at Lonan that 'it's as all for my girls now' i.e. that Lonan could not expect to inherit any of Hugh's assets upon his passing.

"Hugh was by this point showing signs of cognitive decline. Lonan recalls that he would on occasion fall asleep at the wheel of his car and that he presented as disheveled and vulnerable.

"Lonan's strong and long standing relationship with Hugh deteriorated suddenly and unexpectedly, in the context of Jennifer's trenchant efforts to isolate Hugh from his former family and Hugh's cognitive decline, which left him vulnerable to his influence in that respect.

"Hugh passed away on 2 June 2019. The cause of death was Alzheimers disease. Jennifer did not permit Lonan to attend the funeral."

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Earlier in the hearing, Richard Wilson KC, for the widow, described the claim "opportunistic" and said it should be refused, highlighting a specific list Mr O'Herlihy had sent to her.

It 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 Melehior D’hondecoeter painting and £800,000 for the purchase of an investment property, he said.

He told the judge: "The things he wants: a house and investment property, a classic car, an old master painting, an expensive watch - it would send a shiver down the spine of any wealthy parent.

"There was no provision for a long period before death. An adult child would largely be expected to stand on their own two feet.

"It would send a shiver down the spine of anybody entering a relationship to think that it creates an entitlement to the kind of lavish lifestyle put forward in this case."

Mr O'Herlihy says he needs provision from Mr Taylor's estate to enable him to maintain an "appropriate" standard of living, with the 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 mum's then partner.

Even after he and his mum split, Mr O'Herlihy, now 36, remained close with Mr Taylor, he says, receiving "extravagant birthday gifts" from him, including a £5,000 watch and a £40,000 Audi.

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He says he had a "father son" relationship with Mr Taylor and was promised by him that he would inherit his lucrative property business.

But the TV star says that he was gradually "cut out" of Mr Taylor's life after he married Jennifer in 2010 and was "not permitted" to attend his funeral in 2019.

He says his current financial state is "precarious" and is asking for a cut from the estate worth £5m 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.

Reality TV star Mr O’Herlihy joined the 'Made in Chelsea' cast for its eight series in 2014, starring alongside the likes of Spencer Matthews and Alexandra 'Binky' Felstead.

He worked as a personal trainer in Knightsbridge, boasting celebrity clients including Ed Westwick, who played bad boy 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 cover star in Men's Fitness magazine.

When he died, Mr Taylor, a property dealer and classic car and aeroplane enthusiast, left an estate worth £38,540,357, including the proceeds of sale of his Grade-I listed mansion, Eastington Hall, near Upton upon Severn, Gloucestershire, which he bought for £3.15m in 1997.

He had been in a "committed romantic relationship" with Mr O'Herlihy's author and painter mum Pamela between 1995 and 2003 and during that time she, Lonan and his brother Rogan lived as "a family unit," Mr O'Herlihy said, telling the court: "Hugh was a father to me and I was a son to him".

Mr O'Herlihy is seeking permission to bring his claim for money from the estate out of time, having missed the normal six month deadline after Mr Taylor's death in which to lodge his case.