Pictured in this week's Voici, this is one of the most beautiful women in the world. Hey, let's not be cheap here, this is the most beautiful woman in the world. So why does she look like shit? Linda Evangelista is 37 years old. At this age, many parisian women look at their best, even if they weren't supermodel in a previous life.
In the same French tabloid this week, appears also her on-again, off-again boyfriend, goalkeeper Fabien Barthez with a new girlfriend (I've put the pic here). One has to be very careful about Voici, who already tied Barthez to rock groupie Ophelie Winters by cropping pictures. Still, it is possible that this time they are off, he with Aurelie, a student from Lyon, and she with Warner LeRoy, an american restaurateur.
This is not, of course, the first time it seems the story is over. It was a sad story; somehow, its ending makes it only sadder.
I suppose all readers of this humble weblog know by now that Evangelista had a miscarriage in 1999 who affected the couple profoundly. It was a controversial move to tell everything about it in Paris Match immediatly afterwards, but after all, it is their lives, not ours.
Contrary to popular belief (and to reports in British tabloids), it didn't result in an immediate separation. Barthez and Evangelista began a rollercoaster relationship, paparazzi and reporters were always around. This week, it seems it's over for good.
Linda Evangelista was asked last year by the Manchester Evening News (I'm profoundly endebted to Stephane, a football fan who sent me the interview) how did she feel when Barthez lifted the World Cup for France. It happened during the blessed summer of 1998, long before mental demons and health concerns haunted her, but she replied: "I talked to Fabien about it, about that feeling, how special it is because it's about knowing that once, at the top of your career, you were the best".
The past tense here is a little weird. After all, at the same moment she was the most photographed model in the world, and he was champion of the world. But sure enough, she slipped as he did, loosing the 2002 World Cup at the first round. It was more a prophetic observation: she was the best, once. He was the best, once. That's life.
One can't escape the feeling that Linda Evangelista is going to be our generation's Elisabeth Taylor - beautiful, fascinating, cursed, and a little pathetic.