Liv Tyler returns to Cotswolds family home – but has love life with Dave Gardner hit a rocky spell?

TALK OF THE TOWN: Lord of the Rings star Liv Tyler is back at her Cotswolds family home – but has her love life with football agent fiance Dave Gardner hit a rocky spell?

Just what has lockdown done to lovebirds Liv Tyler and Dave Gardner, David Beckham’s best friend?

Those close to the couple have grown concerned about their relationship after 43-year-old Lord Of The Rings star Liv flew to Los Angeles for eight weeks with their two children in tow, leaving her football agent fiance to fend for himself.

She returned to their Cotswolds family home with the youngsters, aged five and four, last week – but their transatlantic separation has set tongues wagging.

Liv, daughter of Aerosmith rocker Steven Tyler, did find time to post a 44th birthday video message to Dave on Instagram while she was away – but was noticeably missing her huge sparkler of an engagement ring. 

Live Tyler and Dave Gardner pictured above at the British Fashion Awards at London Coliseum in November 2015. Those close to the couple have grown concerned about their relationship

Dave instead celebrated the day with a surprise dinner party thrown by pals including Beckham – whom he has known since they were in Manchester United’s youth squad together – and comedian Jack Whitehall.

However, despite the rumours about the state of their relationship, a close friend reassures me that the couple have not split.

My source says: ‘Liv wanted to go to LA to see her sister’s baby. But as they are not married, Dave was not able to enter the country because of the Covid-19 restrictions.

‘Liv and the children came back to the UK last week and they are back in their Cotswolds home.’

Liv pictured attending the FOX Winter TCA All Star Party at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena, California in January this year

Liv pictured attending the FOX Winter TCA All Star Party at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena, California in January this year

They must have a lot of catching up to do as eight weeks is a very long time to be apart for any family.

Dave even had to make his own holiday arrangements during the summer, spending time in Ibiza with Kate Moss, 46, her daughter Lila Grace, 18, and Kate’s photographer boyfriend Nikolai von Bismarck. It was Kate who introduced Dave and Liv to each other in 2014 and they have been engaged since July 2015.

They both have sons from previous relationships. Liv – currently starring in Harlots on BBC2 – has Milo, 14, from her marriage to musician Royston Langton, while Dave, who is godfather to Beckham’s son Brooklyn, fathered 11-year-old Gray with his ex-wife Davinia Taylor, the actress and toilet roll heiress.

Liv’s publicist did not respond to a request to comment.

Princess Charlotte’s godfather Thomas van Straubenzee and his wife Lucy have announced the birth of their first child, who they have named Mary.

Thomas, who works for high-end estate agent Knight Frank, is a close friend of Charlotte’s dad Prince William. New mother Lucy teaches mindfulness and outdoor learning at Thomas’s Battersea, a private school in South West London, which Charlotte attends with brother Prince George.

It was the Cambridges who introduced the couple to each other in 2018 and Thomas and Lucy married in the summer. They were eager to start a family and Lucy was heavily pregnant when she walked down the aisle in Chelsea in July. I wonder if William will be asked to be godfather?