EXCLUSIVE AT HOME: ULTIMATE MATCHMAKER
ON FIRST DATES, ROYAL MATCHES AND
FINDING HER OWN PERFECT PARTNER
LARA ASPREY
‘We’ve had quite a
few high-profile
people on our books:
actors, models,
billionaires’
I
n the months before Prince Harry met
Meghan Markle, another woman had her
sights set on the eligible royal.
“Purely in a professional capacity,” Lara
Asprey quickly adds, which is clear as she
cosies up to her handsome husband, Spanish
investment banker Juan Miguel Custodio, and
their gorgeous two-year-old daughter Elise, for
our exclusive shoot in their bright and stylish
London home.
Her role as head of Asprey Introductions
explains her interest in Harry. “I did put the
feelers out to see if we could help him. We have
friends in common and had lots of people for
him. Then he was introduced to Meghan, damn
it,” she laughs. “Someone else got there first.”
With her wealth of dating expertise, would
Lara have predicted a successful match in
Meghan? “I would not have necessarily picked
her as perfect for Harry so it just goes to show
that chemistry is unpredictable. Had I met her
I’d have seen it because they’re great together.”
Finding winning love matches is at the
heart of Lara’s business, set up five years ago
and which has led to her being described as
the world’s best matchmaker.
“It’s a flattering title, I’m blown away by it,”
she says as we meet ahead of the return of her
TV show The Ultimate Matchmaker, which sees
Lara and her team send clients on magical
dates to castles and private islands.
By contrast, Lara, now 35, met the love of
her life by chance seven years ago in a bar on
London’s Fulham Road. “I’d popped in with a
friend but it was packed so we decided to
leave. Standing by the door was my husband
with a big smile. He said: ‘Hi, I’m Juan,’ and
joked he was by the exit because he was a
street cleaner. I ended up giving my number
to a friend of his and a few weeks later he
texted and we met up for brunch. When he
turned up, I thought: ‘Wow, my memory
didn’t deceive me. He’s absolutely charming
and gorgeous.’” A year later he proposed and
they were married in his native Seville in 2015.
She describes her work, which involves
meeting lots of single men, as: “Not the easiest
job for a wife to do. Juan gets ribbed but he’s
incredibly supportive and understanding.”
They always make time for their own date
nights, even more so since Elise was born.
“Suddenly you become Dad and Mum rather
than husband and wife and it’s important to
go out together. Then the weekend is lock-
down for us to spend time with Elise.”KEY MATCHMAKING ROLE
Aside from her own happy marriage to Juan,
38, and family life with Elise and Cami, their
toy poodle, Windsor-born Lara has played a
key role in “hundreds of marriages and there
are babies, too: at least a couple every year”.
Does she get invited to many weddings and
christenings? “We always follow up with
couples to see how it’s going or we find out on
Instagram that someone has just proposed,
which is always exciting. I’ve been to a couple
of weddings but I liken it a bit to if you’re an
estate agent; you don’t get invited to the house
warming. Sometimes people haven’t told their
family and friends how they met.”
To be accepted onto her books –which
includes six months’ membership, unlimited
dates and a dedicated matchmaker–
costs £9,000, with more for relationships
Describedas
theworld’sbest
matchmaker,
Lara’stipsfora
firstdate
include:“No
showing
YouTubevideos.
Andask‘Why?’
not‘What?’
questionsas
theygettothe
heartofpeople
quicker”
(LEFT) CAMISOLE: REBECCA TAYLOR AT TRILOGYSTORES.CO.UK. BLAZER: SMYTHE AT HARVEY NICHOLS. TROUSERS: AMANDA WAKELEY. JEWELLERY: RACHEL JACKSON LONDON(RIGHT) JUAN’S SHIRT: JAEGER. JEANS & BELT: CORDINGS. LARA’S BLOUSE: VINCE AT HARVEY NICHOLS. TROUSERS: VICTORIA BECKHAM AT HARVEY NICHOLS. EARRINGS: RACHEL JACKSON LONDON. ELISE’S JUMPSUIT: ZARA80