Premier League legend broke the heart of a Page 3 girl whose boobs fascinated Prince Harry
An explosive collision of royal nightlife and football superstardom unfolds as a Page 3 model and a Premier League icon become entwined in a love triangle that stretched from London’s nightlife to the tabloids. The saga centers on Cassie Sumner, a Page 3 girl who rose to fame alongside her fellow glamour models, and Chelsea icon Michael Essien, who rose to the pinnacle of English football under Jose Mourinho before later sharing the spotlight with headlines off the pitch.
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Harry's Chinawhite night with Page 3 stars Lauren Pope and Cassie Sumner
Back in 2004, the Sunday People reported the teenage royal was allegedly spotted kissing and cuddling with the pair as they partied at London’s Chinawhite nightclub. The report claimed that "moments after snogging Page 3 girl Lauren Pope, he was knocking back powerful Sex On The Beach cocktails with busty Cassie Sumner". Sumner also opened up on the experience, with Prince Harry reportedly inviting them to his private table inside the club. She revealed the young prince nuzzled her earlobes and ran her fingers through his hair. He also invited her to continue partying elsewhere, claimed Sumner at the time. "He was undressing me with his eyes," she explained. "I knew he'd been snogging Lauren earlier in the night but after she left he just homed in on me. He seemed fascinated with my breasts, because he spent more time looking at them than he did my face when we talked." She told The Mirror: "He made eye contact as I stood at the bar with friends and he invited me to join his private table. Lauren had left so I thought, 'what the hell'." "I plonked myself down next to him and it wasn't long before he began cuddling up to me. If I'm honest I didn't really fancy Harry. I prefer more muscles on a man. But he came across as a lovely lad who was just enjoying a normal night out like any red-blooded single 19-year-old."
The Essien affair and the explosive claims from Lurata Murati
Cassie Sumner’s romance with Essien followed, but it wasn’t smooth sailing. The midfielder's former girlfriend, glamour model Lurata Murati, claimed Essien cheated on her with Cassie during their seven-month relationship. Lurata stormed: "He's a lying, cheating b******. He thinks because he is this big football hero he can treat women with contempt. When I asked him about this girl he just kept saying 'It's rubbish, it's rubbish' while laughing down the phone as though it was no big deal. I can't believe I've been sleeping with this man who was happy to see such a trollop. Now I just want to put Michael Essien out of my life." Blonde Lurata, a 6ft personal trainer, said Essien wooed her with champagne in nightclubs and went wild for her 34E boobs and corsets during romps at her flat, but never invited her back to his Surrey mansion. Lurata said she first met Essien at a Knightsbridge restaurant and shared hot texts with the press; they broke things off when she confronted him over Cassie. The Mirror reported he had been seeing Cassie, lavishing gifts on her including a flashy BMW, and she "virtually moved into his Surrey home" - the mansion Lurata said she was never invited to. Lurata said she was glad to have found out about his other woman, who Essien had supposedly already been dating for months, "otherwise he would have been stringing me along for ages". When a Mirror reporter pressed Essien about Lurata and Cassie, he allegedly replied, "What are you talking about? No. Sorry," before putting the phone down.
Cassie Sumner’s life after Essien: from Russell Brand to Jose Fonte
Cassie, who had once dated comedian and actor Russell Brand, later gave a scathing assessment of what she said was 17 months seeing Essien, saying sex with him "wasn't fantastic". In her book 'Cassie Sumner: Loving it', she wrote how Essien "broke her heart" and ended their relationship after the footballer denied they had even been a couple. She said: "It's ludicrous. He welcomed me into his life and his bed." And she told OK! magazine: "I swore to God after Michael that I would never date another footballer. It took me two and a half years before I dated one again." However, that vow didn’t last long, as she is now happily married to former Southampton star Jose Fonte, after meeting the defender in 2009 when he was at Crystal Palace and going on to have two children with him. Cassie said: "I didn't know José was a footballer when we met in a local bar. But José is different from other footballers I've met – he's actually a nice guy!" She was even spotted on the pitch with Fonte and the Henri Delaunay trophy when Portugal triumphed in Euro 2016. Fonte went on to captain Lille to Ligue 1 glory in 2021 and later moved to Casa Pia in the Portuguese league, living in Portugal with Cassie and their family. Essien meanwhile had a short spell at AC Milan after his time in Spain, before an injury-laden period with Greek side Panathinaikos ahead of moves to Indonesian club Persib Bandung and Sabail FK of the Azerbaijan Premier League. He is now a coach for Danish Superliga club Nordsjaelland.
