You will inevitably lead to a very interesting life if it seems that you have a lazy hand for falling in love with famous, rich, and powerful men. The life that ensues is full of all the trappings of fame and fortune, but maybe just as stressful.
Continued media attention, scrutiny, and the resulting loss of privacy may mean that your life may not be as rosy and smooth as others imagine. One woman who definitely knows a thing or two about what it is like to have famous partners is Erica Packer. Before we go into the details of her high-profile relationships, let’s talk a bit about Packer’s career.
Erica Packer Bio/Career
Packer was born Erica Baxter on 10 November 1977 in Gunnedah, Northwest New South Wales, Australia. She attended a local private girls’ school in Abbotsleigh.
Very little is known about her educational qualifications. What is certain, however, is that she was clear about her path early in life. Erica started out as a model who appeared on various catwalks in Australia and gradually worked her way up in social circles.
She then tried her hand at music and in 2006 signed a contract to record several albums with SonyBMG Music Australia.
Her debut album entitled Through My Eyes was released in 2007. The album, produced by Audius Mtawairia, produced several singles, including “Dreams”, “I Spy”, (co-written with the famous British singer Natasha Bedingfield), and “I Don’t Feel a Thing”.
In Australia, the album received positive reviews from critics but was generally not considered a great success.
The album’s failure was due to a lack of publicity. While it climbed to number 18 in the Australian Hitseekers Charter, it failed in the ARIA Top 100 Album Charter. Although her record contract provided for the production of several albums, this record was the last the world ever heard of Erica Packer.
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Married, Children, Divorce
Erica Packer is considered a very attractive woman in many ways. In her own way, she has attracted a handful of men, most of the famous personalities.
Even in 1995, before her music career began, it was believed that Erica Packer was in a relationship with the actor Jason Donovan. This proved to be short-lived, however, as the two soon went their separate ways.
It was followed by producer Nellee Hooper, with whom she has been working since 2000. Subsequently, the two parted ways and from 2003 on rumors circulated that she was together with Australia’s eighth richest man, the billionaire businessman James Packer.
Their relationship lasted back and forth for the next three years and finally led to their marriage on June 20, 2007. Erica was to become the second Mrs. James Packer. The billionaire was in a three-year relationship with the Australian glamour model and fashion designer Jodhi Meares that ended in June 2002.
As expected, the wedding of Erica and James Packer was extravagant, to say the least. It was a five-day celebration with a price tag estimated at $15 million. Erica’s elaborately designed white dress by John Galliano for Christian Dior cost $100,00 from that lot. The main wedding was celebrated at the Hotel de Ville on the French Riviera.
A carnival event followed by beach parties and luxurious boat trips.
Among the 200 guests were celebrities such as Tom Cruise and his then-wife Katie Holmes, Sarah and Lachlan Murdoch, radio announcer Alan Jones and others.
Like their wedding, the marriage lasted blissfully until September 2013, when the couple shocked the media with news of their separation, which meant the end of a 6-year marriage.
James Packer filed the divorce papers and kept the $50 million family estate in Sydney, while Erica received a generous $100 million payout from the divorce, although she demanded much less.
Their marriage produced three children: Emmanuelle Sheelagh (born September 22, 2012), Jackson Lloyd (born February 2, 2010), and daughter Indigo (born July 27, 2008).
Despite their divorce, the Australian billionaire maintains close relations with the mother of his three children.
During her 40th birthday in 2017, she had an elaborate party at her ex-husband’s villa in West Buttermilk Estate in Aspen. The ceremony was attended by close friends, including actor Orlando Bloom, Sarah and Lachlan Murdoch, and Australian Vogue fashion director Christine Centenera.
James Packer’s family, including his mother Ros, his sister Gretel and his niece Francesca, also came to support the former model.
For Christmas 2017, James Packer reunited with his family by spending the holidays with them.
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Erica Packer’s Relationship With Seal
Erica made the decision to end her marriage with her good friend, the British singer Seal. Their date had begun in 2015, shortly after Seal started working on the reality show The Voice in Australia.
About two years later, around April 2017, the couple separated. Before their separation, the couple, who did not shy away from PDAs, was last seen on vacation in Colorado in late 2016. Seal’s ex-wife, model Heidi Klum, with whom he shares four children, also went on that vacation and seemed to be very comfortable with Erica Packer, her ex-husband’s girlfriend.
Sources speculate that the reason Packer broke up with Seal may be because the British singer still had feelings for his former flame Delta Goodrem, his co-coach at The Voice Australia.
