Princess Beatrice’s ex Dave Clark got married two years after their breakup, ouch

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Just about two years ago, Princess Beatrice of York broke up with Dave Clark. I say she broke up with him, but I got the feeling that it was more of a mutual thing, especially since they seemed to deal with everything with some maturity. They had been dating for the better part of a decade, and it had gotten to the point where (I believed) Beatrice expected Dave to propose. And he didn’t. So they did the big talk about “where is this going” and “if you don’t want a commitment, then I need to find someone who does want to get married.” I felt for Beatrice, honestly. I think she really adored Dave and wanted to marry him after 10 years together, and she’s been single ever since their split. I assume she’s been casually dating, but there’s been no steady boyfriend in two years. And now this:

Princess Beatrice‘s ex boyfriend Dave Clark is a married man! Clark, who dated Beatrice for nearly a decade, tied the knot with Lynn Anderson over the weekend during a romantic ceremony in Italy, a source tells PEOPLE.

Present during the couple’s happy day was Scooter Braun, manager to Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, who shared some sweet photos of Clark and Anderson’s big day.

“Congrats to David and Lynn Clark on a beautiful wedding filled with laughter and love and more laughter and some dancing and some donuts,” he wrote alongside a series of photos of the pair. “Shotgun Anderson will always be my hero. Love to you guys and your new family! Cheers!”

[From People]

This is rough. Yes, it’s been two years since the breakup, and yes, this kind of thing happens all the time. But I still feel a pang of sympathy for poor Beatrice. She was with Dave for nearly a decade! They broke up because he didn’t want to get married, and then he immediately gets into a relationship in which he ends up getting married?? Come on. Maybe Beatrice was really the Bridget Jones of the royal family this whole time. I used to think Prince Harry was the Bridget Jones of the Windsors, but now we can see it clearly: Beatrice = Bridget. I hope she finds her Mark Darcy.

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77 Responses to “Princess Beatrice’s ex Dave Clark got married two years after their breakup, ouch”

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  1. Juls says:

    So it’s not that he didn’t want to get married, he just didn’t want to marry her. If so, breaking up was the right thing to do. I know this may be very painful for her, but she dodged a bullet in the end.

    • Clare says:

      We actually don’t know that they split up because he didn’t want to get married. And, if he didn’t want to get married into the BRF, or to her, that’s totally fair and he did the right thing to end the relationship and move on.

      Also they split up 2+ years ago – this is hardly scandalous or needing analysis. Awkward maybe, but 2 years is a decent time to move on!

      • Amelie says:

        He got engaged just six months after starting to date Lynn and only started dating her a few months after the breakup. He moved on pretty fast.

      • jan90067 says:

        Amelie, you beat me to it lol. I was just going to say the same thing. Not only did he move on, he accelerated out of the chute!

        I’d heard/read somewhere, that with the coming of Charlotte, Bea wasn’t 6th in line anymore, and she didn’t need TQ’s permission (not that I think TQ would’ve denied Bea), but when Bea wanted that commitment, he said nope. Personally, I think he liked the perks he got with her (traveling, parties, yatch vacays etc.) that wouldn’t be open to him w/out her. When it was put up or shut up time, he shut up.

        Still, while I’m not a Bea fan, it’s gotta hurt, being so public.

      • okay_then says:

        If a man is with you for 10 years and there’s no sign of things moving forward… it’s time for the woman to move on.

    • Redgrl says:

      How do we know she didn’t want to get married? Why is it always assumed the woman wants to get married & the man doesn’t? Are there any actual interviews where she says that? Otherwise it’s a pretty big assumption- maybe she didn’t want to marry him, maybe neither of them wanted to marry the other. Just sayin – we shouldn’t assume it’s the woman without something concrete…

      • Rhys says:

        I feel the same way – why is everyone assuming that just because he got married so soon, he didn’t want to marry Bea? Women do occasionally date guys they don’t want to marry for a long long time.

      • sa says:

        I agree. We have no reason to think that she wanted to marry him and it’s way too big a leap to just assume they broke up because she wanted to get married and he didn’t.

        Maybe she wanted to get married, or maybe he wanted to get married and she didn’t. Or maybe their relationship had run its course. We don’t know.

    • Whitecat says:

      Hardly a scandal, it sucks but it’s better this way rather than getting married, divorce, etc.

      I’m in the same boat sort of.. I’ve been with my boyfriend for a year and a half and we are getting engaged, but we meet two weeks after he broke up with his girlfriend of 10 years – never got engaged, etc and eventually he sucked it up and broke it off. I asked him several times why didn’t he do it before and he said he loved her but in the last 3 years everything changed and he tried a lot to fix it and he didn’t want to hurt her.. Things change and yeah it sucks but I feel like we have all been in this boat where we drag along a dying relationship for years..

    • Rhys says:

      Have you seen the picture of the newlyweds? They looks like twins!

      • Birdix says:

        They do!! Something about him makes me think of Jared Kushner.

      • elle says:

        He looks like the love child of George Bush the younger and Jared Kushner.

      • ichsi says:

        @Elle Damnit, why did you have to point that out, I actually thought that he was not unattractive xD
        I like that she’s taller than him, that’s about it.

      • FLORC says:

        Omg they do! Striking resemblance. Not just a few similarities, but pretty much all. Eyes, cheeks, jaw, smile, etc…
        I’d swear they were actual twins

    • RoyalSparkle says:

      – 1
      Or the BRF knew more and seem unsuitable… (the reverse)?

  2. Jay says:

    That’s gotta suck. I feel for her too. And yes it happens all the time. But usually when that pattern plays out – long relationship that looked like it would lead to marriage, break up, speedy marriage to someone else – it’s because the two were fundamentally incompatible. So it sucks for her but hey. :/ That’s life.

    • liriel says:

      Yeah it’s such a cliche. 10 years, break up, new relationship and a quick marriage. I feel for her too.

    • Milla says:

      Yeah sucks for Bea now. We don’t Know what ended their relationship but i hope she will find a nice guy. She seems alright.

  3. Newbie says:

    Beatrice was in my year during my Masters at Goldsmiths college. She was accompanied by 2 female bodyguards who pretended to be students to blend in but who just looked like navy seals undercover 😂
    Beatrice used to have all this privilege. She came to uni with her expensive Audi and parked right in front of the building on uni grounds when no one was allowed to do that. She once left the keys in the car and ledt the car unlocked. She seemed to not really understand the real world.

    • Sid says:

      I’m not surprised to read that a child of Andrew and Fergie would be like that.

  4. LadyT says:

    Why does Braun refer to her as Shotgun Anderson and congratulate the “new family”? Pregnant I’d guess. Not that I care, just interested in the wording.

    • Murphy says:

      She already had the baby.

      • LadyT says:

        Ok then. I didn’t see that mentioned anywhere.

      • Olive says:

        @LadyT yeah, not sure why this wasn’t mentioned in the post – goes a long way towards explaining the speed of the marriage

      • Ravine says:

        Are you just speculating, Murphy? I can’t find any evidence of that online.

        From what I can tell they haven’t announced a pregnancy, so “Shotgun” is probably an unrelated nickname. From the “my hero” comment I’d assume he’s praising her drinking prowess (as in, she can “shotgun” more drinks than him).

  5. Murphy says:

    Don’t feel bad for Bea–she dodged a bullet with this.

    • Ardnamurchan says:

      In ten years of dating, or rather ten years of pap snaps of them dating he. never. looked. at. her.
      Not once.

      I wish for her sake she’d dodged this bullet earlier.

  6. Noodles says:

    I don’t feel sorry for her. We don’t know why they split up. If you’ve been together for a decade, it’s highly unlikely you’re going to get a proposal. Isn’t that the kind of thing that people do then they’re still in the honeymoon, all over each other phase of relationships most of the time?

    Maybe she’s happy being single. I don’t like this idea that people need to be with someone or they’re not complete or doing something wrong. Being single isn’t really a problem. She doesn’t need anyone and maybe she’s happily living her life.

    • Rhys says:

      I considered myself single for a long time and liked it that way. Even when I was dating and technically others would call someone I was going out with my boyfriend, I didn’t see myself as “taken.” People shouldn’t be defined by their relationships.

  7. Other Renee says:

    Scooter Braun gives me the creeps. And I would not want anyone posting pics of my wedding before I had the chance to do so.

    • Dr. Bean says:

      I was wondering why no one was pointing this out. Why is Scooter Braun a guest? Random.

  8. SamC says:

    I don’t know, they’ve been apart for 2 years, not like he got married 2 months after their split.

    • Ardnamurchan says:

      I think the new gf, now wife, was pregnant less than a year after the breakup.
      Oh god, now I sound like a stalker.

      I admit it. For years, when pix of these two popped up, I’d mutter, ‘girl, get a man who doesn’t look like he’s walking an absent friend’s tiresome puppy’.

  9. Beth says:

    That’s definitely an ouch, but it proves she wasn’t the person he wanted to be with forever.

  10. Erinn says:

    I mean, I don’t really feel bad for her. If he didn’t want to marry her, should he have proposed, gotten married, then divorced later? That would be MUCH worse, especially if kids came out of it.

    I’d feel worse if he was married in under a year after the split, but as it stands, it’s not THAT bad. And if he’s in love with this woman – should he really feel sorry for that? I mean, something wasn’t working in their relationship – hence the breakup. But he shouldn’t have to live his life on her timeframe – or hold off on marriage for her sake. He’s living his own life – separate from her – and clearly this is something he wanted.

    • Maria says:

      @erinn if he didn’t want to marry her, then she’s well out of it. But why hang around for ten years if he wasn’t in love with her?

  11. Digital Unicorn says:

    She dodged a bullet with this one, it was long said he was only using her for contacts etc..

    • Apalapa says:

      I thought her family didn’t like him either, for some reason. Because they could sense he was trying to profit off of her. Or maybe he had a history of bullying people he considered beneath him.

    • Ardnamurchan says:

      Yes.
      Women who date the RF get immense grief for gold-digging/social climbing.
      Despite rumours that William thought he was dodgy, Dave Clarke never faced the torrent of trolling that royal gf’s did, even though his career did very nicely, thank you, from the royal connection.

      There was a rumour that William showed some false info to DC see if it leaked, and it did.
      No idea if it’s true. But that was a popular explation for William’s disdain.

  12. Jessica says:

    Not seeing how this is an ouch. Maybe he couldn’t handle the Royal lifestyle.

    • Maria says:

      Am pretty sure he used the royal lifestyle to develop his contacts and if he didn’t like it it shouldn’t take him ten years to figure that out.

  13. HK9 says:

    I love it when the man who says he doesn’t want to get married does it with a big flashy ceremony. Sigh…it is what it is.

    • liriel says:

      It kind of happened to me and frankly it always hurts.

      • okay_then says:

        This is going to sound harsh, but men who say that, do want to get married… they just don’t want to get married to you. I wish some women would figure this out a lot sooner because it would save them from a lot of heartache.

  14. JustJen says:

    She seems annoying. My husband proposed to me after five months of dating and his ex was annoyed (so I heard) as she had been nagging him to put a ring on it during their three years together. If someone doesn’t propose within a couple of years, you should assume they’re not going to.

    • Coz' says:

      Plenty of people get engaged well after two years. Plenty of people don’t need to be married to stay together their whole life.
      Also, always nice to see the word nagging associated to women!!!!

    • Jessica says:

      Congrats, but it sounds like you’re fine with the situation because you were the beneficiary. Doubt you’d feel so if the shoe were on the other foot. “Nagging” is such an ugly misogynist stereotype too, as others have noted. You didn’t witness it, you merely “heard,” and are taking on board your husband’s perspective.

      Totally wrong to state that someone won’t marry you if they haven’t after two years, too. Every relationship is different, There are no hard and fast rules. Some might say that diving into marriage after five months is a bit foolish. It’s not foolish if it’s what works for you. I hope you are both happy and healthy!

      • Veronica S, says:

        Seriously. My personal experience with friends who got engaged in under a year is that they wind up divorced – because they jumped into marriage during the lovey stage. Sure, it doesn’t happen to everyone, but I’d want to be with someone at MINIMUM two years before I went through the trouble of legalizing it.

        I find that “nagging” is often sexist code for “stop wasting my time and decide whether you’re going to marry me or break up.” Which is entirely fair demand of somebody considering that life is pretty damn short. If women are responsible for leaving men who won’t marry them, then men should be held responsible for not being honest about their intentions. Relationships are not a one-way street where women field the emotional labor.

    • Ardnamurchan says:

      Not necessarily.
      See her sister, for instance.

  15. Patty says:

    She was with him for ten years, and he proposed to his now wife after just six months of dating. That probably did hurt / sting a little bit. I don’t know why everyone is saying she dodged a bullet though. Is Dave Clark a bad guy? Not marrying Bea does not make him a bad person; neither does dating for 10 years. It’s not like he forced her to be with him. If she was okay with the status quo for 10 years that’s on her not him.

  16. liriel says:

    I feel for her. Some are saying “if he doesn’t propose after a few years he isn’t going to”. I don’t agree with it.
    Beatrice is ridiculed for her non Hollywood figure, clothes and now he very quickly moved on and put a ring on another female. It just shows that you can bo a part of royal family but Beatrice is like everyone else.

  17. Bridget says:

    She was with him for 10 years, and her social connections were a huge part in him building his career with Virgin. Yeah, i’m giving him a side eye.

  18. Eva says:

    She’s always seemed so uninteresting to me. I think that’s what aristocracy does to you, when you don’t have any other purpose or ambition in life. I’m sure she’s a nice enough girl, but there’s just nothing inspiring about her, nothing I’d like to pick her brain about. Her life has been one big holiday on someone else’s expense. I’m sure David Clark’s bride comes from a privileged background as well, but at least it sounds like she’s got a real job and has put some effort into her professional life.

    I think it’s the “minor royal”-curse. Bea’s dad insisted on her getting a Princess title, and I’m not sure that was a good idea. Being a Princess, she is probably restricted in what she can do with her life, and she’s a public person. But unlike William or Harry, she doesn’t have enough royal work. She’s in this awkward peripheral position. In comparison, Anne’s kids seem to have gotten the better deal – they are privileged, but they are private citizens, and have carved out meaningful lives for themselves.

    • jan90067 says:

      Maybe Zara did, with her equestrian thing, but Peter? His company gets its perks from the royal connection. Remember two yrs ago when his company got the gig for TQ’s 90th birthday? No competitive bids, then they CHARGED CHARITIES for tables and goodies. Then made a sh!tload off that. It was VERY fishy.

  19. Capepopsie says:

    Well, it happens.
    Vanessa Paradis never wanted to marry Johnny Depp,
    and now She is married!

  20. Keira says:

    Love Bea with the dark eye makeup.

    • Astrid says:

      I don’t agree, she looks like she has bug eyes…to each his own I guess

    • Tessy says:

      If the makeup extended more to the outer corners instead of concentrated underneath, it might make her eyes look less buggy. I wonder if she has thyroid problems.

      • jan90067 says:

        She can’t help her eyes; I wondered she has Graves. I don’t think that Queen Victoria’s eyes (whom she resembles) were quite this “buggy”.

        I’m surprised they never really fixed her underbite. Her jaw tends to jut, esp. when she tries to close her lips. Wonder why they never filed down her teeth to accomodate her mouth size. She has the Windsor horse teeth. Andrew, William, and Edward have the same thing going.

  21. Other Renee says:

    Remember that they were considerably younger when they met and I’m sure neither was ready for marriage at that time. Then perhaps the years slipped by and they realized as fully formed adults that they wanted more in a lifetime partner. They wanted thunderbolts. He found it. She has not. Yet. No shame in that.

  22. Lindy says:

    I feel for her… 2 years isn’t the speediest timeline ever, but I imagine it would still sting. I hope she finds the right person for her. I do think sometimes that happens, though–a long relationship, a breakup, and then one partner getting into a newer, serious relationship or even getting married fairly soon after. I’d like to think it’s because going through a breakup like that is a learning experience–you figure out what you really need and want in a partner and how to be a better partner yourself. And that sets you up for a really good relationship soon after. My husband (2nd marriage for me, 1st for him) and I met and within a year we knew we wanted to get married. Many of his friends and family were shocked–he’d been with someone seriously for several years but never wanted to get married at all. They had been broken up for a year when we met. I wasn’t at all sure I wanted another marriage after 12 years with a really damaging spouse (alcoholism). But it just sort of clicked with us. I think it sometimes happens, too, because people are older after a long relationship and know themselves better as well. Certainly was true for me.

  23. Feedmechips says:

    My ex got engaged a month after we broke up. Something tells me those two were not on an Ariana/Pete timeline though.

  24. Helen Smith says:

    For once I relate to a Princess. I had a man do the same thing to me. Wasted my time. I broke up with him when I wised up and realized he just wanted me as a warm body in his bed but had made up his mind about never marrying me much, much earlier. After I walked, he immediately turned around and married someone else. In my case the marriage took place ten months later. I think he already was seeing her behind my back while we were together. Ouch.

  25. Shannon says:

    How do we know she’s not the one who didn’t want to get married? Or neither one of them wanted to get married and were just kind of over the relationship? Why do we act like being single is the worst thing in the world for a woman? I’ve been in relationships and I’ve been single – for the most part, they both have equal pros and cons.

  26. Yes Doubtful says:

    I don’t see how TWO YEARS later is an ouch? A year or less…sure, but 2 years? I think that’s a reasonable and natural progression of time given how young they were when they broke up. She wasn’t the one. Being single should not be pitied.

    • Jayna says:

      He got engaged after six months of dating this woman. Beatrice invested ten years into the relationship. I imagine she was heartbroken for a while.

  27. LANITA MUNN says:

    Maybe it was him who told her commit or I”m leaving. It’s not always the women that are ring hungry it could’ve been the opposite for all you know

  28. Ally says:

    “I broke him in and now the Idiot Stick Figure With No Soul gets to ride him.“ -SATC

  29. Ann says:

    Two years is enough time to move on. I bet she cares less than you think. I was married for 24 years, the he left for another woman. (He married her 3 weeks after the divorce was final.). I started to heal on my own, and 16 months later met a wonderful man who is true and loving and kind. Beatrice will be just fine. I don’t feel sorry for her one bit. Go, Beatrice!

  30. Villanelle says:

    Shotgun Anderson?…pregnant?

  31. Bread and Circuses says:

    Off-topic, but I’ve always found Princess Beatrice and her sister so lovely. It’s an unconventional beauty–they don’t look like fashion models–but I love how striking their eyes are, and their smiles are so genuine-seeming.

  32. meg says:

    maybe Beatrice broke up with him because she didn’t’ want to get married? why are you assuming shes the one who wanted to marry and he just didn’t feel that way for her? is it because she’s a woman? not every woman is eager to marry