Hugh Grant recently shared a disturbing encounter he had at Heathrow Airport in London while traveling with his family. The 64-year-old actor, accompanied by his wife Anna Eberstein and their three children, took to social media to describe the incident, calling it “intrusive, insulting, and creepy.”
“Just came through Heathrow with wife and children,” Grant wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “We all have the same last name (Grant) on our passports.
Immigration officer engages my children in chit chat then whispers to them ‘Are these your Mum and Dad?'”
Grant expressed his discomfort with the officer’s actions, suggesting that the questions were inappropriate and unsettling. The actor shares two older children, daughter Tabitha, 13, and son Felix, 11, with his ex-partner Tinglan Hong. He and Eberstein have three children together: son John, 12, daughter Lulu, 8, and daughter Blue, 6.
A representative for Heathrow Airport informed a media outlet that Border Force officers are employed by the Home Office. The Home Office has yet to respond to inquiries about the incident.
Grant’s upsetting Heathrow experience
Promotional material from the U.K. government explains that Border Force officers may ask questions to establish relationships between adults and children traveling together, particularly if they have different family names. “We will always do this as quickly as possible and in a way which is sensitive to the interests of the child and the adult involved,” the guidelines read. Grant and Eberstein have been married since 2018.
Last year, in an episode of “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” Grant discussed the challenges of being an older father. “I mean, there’s a lot to dread ’cause I’m old, and it’s noisy, and it’s unbearable. And I do a lot of hiding in the loo,” he said humorously.
Despite the challenges, Grant shared that he treasures moments with his children, especially the “chimpanzee hug” his youngest daughter gives him. The incident at Heathrow Airport has sparked conversations about the appropriateness of certain security procedures, especially concerning families traveling together. While Grant jokingly lamented the struggles of being an older dad, he emphasized the joy he finds in fatherhood.
