Elaine Paige admitted ‘nothing wrong with flirting’ following toy boy split heartache

express.co.uk:

Musical theatre icon Elaine Paige, 73, was revealed to have split from her younger boyfriend of eight years in 2018. In an interview two years later, the actress suggested that she didn’t have a problem with a bit of flirting.The Radio 2 star appeared to have found happiness with advertising executive Justin Mallins after vowing never to marry, but it sadly wasn’t to last.Months after celebrating her 70th birthday in 2018, her relationship ended with Justin, who was 23 years her junior.Justin was 47 at the time of their split and the pair had often addressed their unconventional age gap.Before she dated Justin, the Evita star also had high-profile long-term relationship with lyricist Sir Time Rice, which lasted for 11 years.In December 2020, MailOnline reported that Elaine Page said she couldn’t see the harm in “a little flirting” and even said she would have been “insulted” if casting directors hadn't “tried it on” with her.Speaking about her career spanning five decades, she addressed what the casting couch had been like a bygone era.She said following the birth of the #MeToo movement: “I'm glad to say that yes, there were a couple of instances of the casting couch - there was a lot of that in our era, being the age I am.“And I would have felt insulted, frankly, if not - you'd think there was something wrong with you. “But one was always on one's mettle and always knew how to deal with things.

On both occasions, I was quite forthright in dealing with the matter."She added: “I still feel that flirting and a hand on the knee is not a crime.

If we can't all have a little flirt with one another, what's the point in life?“We have all got to be grown-up and adult about things.