Supermodel Lara Stone, 42, has revealed she has been diagnosed with breast cancer, describing the news as a 'huge shock'. Stone, who was married to comedian David Walliams from 2010 to 2015 and shares a son with him, shared the announcement alongside a poster urging other women to 'check your breasts … it could save a life'.
Stone's Instagram announcement
In her Instagram caption, Stone wrote: 'Since it's still officially Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I wanted to share that I have recently been diagnosed and am undergoing treatment for breast cancer.' She added: 'This has obviously been a huge shock, and I'm so grateful to have found it early.'
'I don't often share my personal life online, but if this post will make just 1 person check their breasts, or make that appointment they've been putting off, it's worth sharing,' she continued. The Dutch model signed off with: 'Please don't ignore changes to your body 🙏💕'.
Stone did not divulge further details of the stage of her cancer or specifics of her treatment.
Support from friends and family
She was flooded with supportive messages in the comments, with Lily Aldridge writing: 'Sending love and healing prayers 💖' and Karen Elson adding: 'Lara, sending you so much love and strength. We are here for you 💗'.
Her health news comes amid an already troubled time in Stone's private life, as ex-husband Walliams was recently dropped by his publisher. In December, HarperCollins discontinued the children's author's backlist and removed his author page from their website, following an internal investigation the previous year into complaints of alleged harassment and inappropriate behaviour towards junior female colleagues. Walliams vehemently denied any wrongdoing and said he was seeking legal advice, as he had not been part of any investigation.
Stone's relationship history
Stone, who has covered Vogue and worked with brands including Chanel, Prada, and Fendi, began dating Walliams in September 2009. After getting engaged the following January, they wed at London's Claridge's Hotel in May 2010 and welcomed son Alfred in May 2013.
The pair began 'drifting apart' and began a trial separation period in early 2015, with Walliams later filing for divorce from Stone, citing 'unreasonable behaviour'. A judge granted a decree nisi after a hearing shorter than 60 seconds.
Both parties remained relatively quiet on their breakup publicly, but Stone did speak about the early days of their romance to Dutch Vogue in 2022. 'I'd been at his house and was walking back to the Tube, and this car was driving next to me, and they were taking pictures the whole time,' she recalled. 'It was just so bewildering and terrifying.'
In 2019, she told The Telegraph, 'Sometimes, really different people work together – but maybe not forever. It's awful getting divorced.' She added of co-parenting: 'The first time I left Alfred with David, he was really clingy. It's now five years, and luckily our son was really young. He didn't really notice anything. It's only now that he knows that we used to be married.'
She described him as 'the happiest kid', while Walliams previously said being a father is 'the best part of [his] life by a long way'.
Stone's current life
In 2018, Stone matched with property developer David Grievson on Tinder, and they got engaged two years later. Stone and Grievson tied the knot at The Town Hall in Hungerford, Berkshire, in July 2021, and they welcomed son Bob two years later. They live together in London.
According to the NHS, the first symptom of breast cancer that most women notice is a lump or an area of thickened tissue in their breast. Women are advised to see a GP if they notice a new lump or area of thickened tissue in either breast that was not there before, a change in the size or shape of one or both breasts, a discharge of fluid from either of their nipples, a lump or swelling in either of their armpits, a change in the look or feel of their skin such as puckering or dimpling, a rash or redness, a rash (like eczema), crusting, scaly or itchy skin or redness on or around their nipple, or a change in the appearance of their nipple, such as becoming sunken into the breast.
