ICE QUEEN
Caprice isn’t just a diva on the ice – how supermodel drove PRs mad and demanded £300 a MINUTE to turn up to parties
SHE has been branded a "lazy diva" who thinks she's "above it all" by Dancing on Ice insiders after sensationally dumping her skating partner.
Yet Caprice Bourret's explosive separation from "gentle giant" Hamish Gaman is far from the first time the 48-year-old supermodel has been accused of diva-like behaviour.
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Raking in £300 a minute
From driving PRs mad to charging £330 a MINUTE to simply turn up to events, Caprice has been no stranger to drama since rising to international fame as a Wonderbra model.
Over the course of her career, she has tried to escape a drink driving charge, pretended to come from a "filthy rich" background, and been filmed in a Celebrity Big Brother row.
She has even admitted herself to having "stroppy diva tantrums" - and previously told a newspaper she was a "very ambitious young girl" who wanted to earn "quadrillions".
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She 'thought she was above it all'
It was reportedly her diva antics that led her to part ways with professional dancer Hamish last week, after the pair grew "to hate each other" amid rising backstage tensions.
An insider told Sun Online: "Hamish was walking on egg shells a lot of the time - he felt Caprice seemed to struggle with the demands of the show and described her as a bit of a diva because she would tell him off a lot and just generally thought she was above it all."
Yet Hamish isn't the first person to be shunted out of Caprice's life - the model has allegedly alienated agents, close pals and even lovers over the years thanks to her "pushy" antics.
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'Pushy' rise to fame
The American mum of two, who grew up in California, moved to the UK in the mid-1990s after getting her big break in Vogue magazine, and now considers herself a "true adopted Brit".
She became a household name after wearing a "very risqué" see-through dress for the National Television Awards, with her picture splashed across newspapers' front pages.
But while Caprice had huge dreams to become a successful businesswoman, as well as a model, it is claimed she was extremely "pushy" in her bid to make her fantasies a reality.
"Her ambition has alienated friends, lovers, not to mention people - such as agents - who should be supporting her," one former associate previously told the
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'Unreasonable' demands
Caprice's then-agent Vic Murray and PR adviser Alison Griffin are among those she's lost.
The pair both stepped down from their roles in 2005 - and, while they refused to discuss their departures at the time, observers blamed the model's "unreasonable demands".
"[Caprice] never listens to advice and when things goes wrong she blames those whose advice she has ignored," one source told the Standard. "It's hopeless."
At the height of her modelling success, Caprice admits she charged thousands of pounds to appear at events - with organisers facing hefty extra fees if they kept her there too long.
"Money was flowing in," the model - who has an estimated net worth of £24 million and has appeared on more than 350 magazine covers - previously told the . "If I was booked for a 45-minute appearance for £15,000, it would be an extra £5,000 if the time overran."
Once, she even turned down the offer of £50,000 to simply show up at a party.
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Famous dates and reality TV
Aside from modelling, Caprice's thirst for publicity has seen her try her hand at music and acting, date a string of famous men, and even throw herself in front of the cameras on reality TV.
After arriving in the UK, she appeared in the documentary series, Filthy Rich: Daddy's Girls, in which she allegedly claimed she came from a wealthy Hollywood family.
In reality, she was raised in a three-bedroom bungalow in the suburbs of Los Angeles, mainly by her Jewish single mother. Her used car salesman dad left when she was five.
Caprice - who competed in beauty pageants as a teenager - has since described her upbringing as standard and unremarkable, according to .
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On-screen row
But the documentary wasn't to be her last experience of reality shows.
In 2005, Caprice appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, where she was filmed in a row with racing pundit John McCririck, who accused her of "having it easy" because of her looks.
She was left infuriated after McCririck - who died in July last year - also reportedly compared her to a "cash machine" and suggested everything she did in the house was for money.
On Day 16, Caprice was the fourth to be evicted, with just five per cent of the vote to win.
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The same year, Caprice briefly dated England Ashes hero Kevin Pietersen - with some claiming their fling, which saw her join him on tour in Melbourne, Australia, was all for the cameras.
"It was such an obvious publicity stunt to raise her profile and it backfired because when Kevin dumped her he said the whole relationship had been a terrible mistake," one pal told the Standard.
Drink-driving rap
Then, in 2006, Caprice was banned from the roads for a year after admitting drink-driving - which she tried to blame on prescription drugs she was taking for a bladder infection.
A court heard she'd drunk a bottle and a half of wine at lunch, followed by more glasses of wine at a party that night, before she was caught drink-driving in her Mercedes.
"The papers came down on me really hard, and rightly so," she later told a newspaper.
"I had a hard time during that period and I went into a little bit of a depression. I was upset at myself for being irresponsible. God forbid that I should have hurt someone or hurt myself.
"Now, if I even take a sip I take a taxi. "
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'Stroppy diva tantrums'
Since then, Caprice has become somewhat of a reality TV veteran, appearing on Britain's next Top Model, Ladies of London, The Jump and Celebs On The Farm, among other shows.
She has also released a book called My Body, My Boys, My Business, in which she admits to flying into diva rages in the past over minor things - such as how her make-up was done.
Describing a campaign shoot with glamorous TOWIE star Amy Childs, she writes: "I wanted to strip down her make-up and try to convince her to go for an entirely different look.
"I was scared to death to do this. I wasn't sure if she would break out into a stroppy diva tantrum act - something like I'd have done in the past. Let's face it, karma is a b****; I'd have deserved it."
Fortunately, ";really lovely" Amy agreed to her new look.
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Millionaire love
In recent years, Caprice has also become a wife - and mum to young sons Jax and Jett.
She tied the knot with her millionaire financier boyfriend Ty Comfort just last month - heading off any chances of a Dancing on Ice ‘curse’ pouring cold water on their relationship.
She has described Ty - whom she met through a mutual friend - as the love of her life, saying: "I have a drop-dead gorgeous partner, so [I have sex] two to three times a week."
Caprice - who is also enjoying entrepreneurial success as owner of the luxury brand By Caprice Home - is now back training for Dancing on Ice after ditching partner Hamish.
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Top stories in TV & Showbiz
But if her recent remarks to OK! magazine about the competition - and her diva-style past - are anything to go by, there could be more drama from the supermodel ahead.
"Right now we're all having a laugh, but once we start competing seriously and we get a bit more down the line, who knows? You may have the dramas then."
Mimicking cat claws, she added: "That'll be me."
Caprice hints drama could be on the cards on Dancing on Ice before pro partner split drama
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