LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Zac Goldsmith recently announced his resignation from the British government and criticized Rishi Sunak for being "apathetic" toward the environment. His appeals to preserve the earth appear to have gone unheard by the Prime Minister.
The billionaire Tory peer has found an unexpected ally in pop sensation Ellie Goulding; insiders claim the two are "friendly." Despite having quite different upbringings, the two have established an unexpected friendship around their mutual interest in environmental concerns.
Who is Zac Goldsmith?
Zac is the son of the late wealthy businessman Sir James Goldsmith, while Ellie was raised on a Herefordshire council estate by a "super-poor" single mother. Zac was born in London and attended Eton College and the Cambridge Centre for Sixth-form Studies. His uncle Edward Goldsmith appointed him editor of The Ecologist in 1998, a post he held until 2007.
Goulding, 36, and her art dealer husband Caspar Jopling, 31, have been living separate lives for at least six months, despite their best efforts to stay together for the sake of their two-year-old son, Arthur, according to reports.
Goldsmith going through divorce from second wife Alice
Goldsmith, 48, is also going through a divorce from his second wife Alice, whom he has been married to for almost a decade. He and Goulding share a concern for the environment. The couple met at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021 and have remained in contact since.
They were photographed having lunch together seven months later at the posh cafe The Garden in Covent Garden, Central London, and then at The Wolseley restaurant in Mayfair. They spent the evening at the same party in October 2022 in the prestigious London member's club Loulou's at 5 Hertford Street, and only a few weeks later, they were reunited for the next global climate change summit, COP27, in Egypt, as reported by Daily Mail.
'They never stop trying'
The singer lauded her pal in a Guardian article on the event, writing, "I attend a dinner with environment ministers and their teams from all over the world, convened by the UK's Zac Goldsmith. You could tell they were tired but ploughing on. What amazes me about this group is that they never stop trying to get a better deal for nature."
"Ellie and Zac have a shared interest, saving the environment. They plainly know one another and talk away from their environmental work. They come from very different backgrounds but have struck up a friendship," a friend revealed.