Before shaking it with Taylor Swift, Bond-in-waiting Tom Hiddleston was academic’s ‘lapdog’
Star was 'head-over-heels' for brainbox Oxford professor who couldn't be more different to his new party girl missus
TAYLOR SWIFT better be able to Shake It Off if fans compare her to new partner Tom Hiddleston’s first love – because the pair are chalk and cheese.
Stunning Swift, 26, and dashing actor Hiddleston – who is tipped to be the next James Bond – have recently unveiled their whirlwind romance.
But The Sun on Sunday can reveal that Hiddleston’s taste appears to have changed A LOT compared to the brainbox academic who is said to be the first woman to steal his heart.
Oxford professor Lucie Cluver, a decade older than Swift, is internationally respected for AIDS and HIV research and projects in South Africa where she works alongside with the World Health Organisation and UNICEF.
And that is just the tip of ‘Ex-Factor’ Lucie’s list of achievements.
She has also headed research grants for millions of pounds in to ‘Preventing Child Abuse in the context of HIV and AIDS in Southern Africa’ and generating evidence on ‘Social Protection and HIV and AIDS.’
Lucie and Hiddleston, 35, are believed to have met when they both studied at Cambridge University and a close source last night said the smitten actor was like Lucie’s “lap dog”.
But with the passing of time it now seems likely the former couple are Never Ever Getting Back Together.
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The source said: “Lucie’s a very bright, energetic, popular woman. Tom was head-over-heals for her.
“She was his first real love. They were in a serious relationship for a while when they were at uni together and then things just fizzled out as they pursued their own careers.
“It is strange – if you could stand Lucie next to Taylor they are completely different.
“Taylor is a party-girl performer and Lucie is a brilliant academic who is doing really important research across the world. Tom obviously has a broad taste in women.”
A profile on the University of Oxford website says: “Lucie Cluver is a Professor of Child and Family Social Work, in the Centre for Evidence-Based Social Intervention in the Department of Social Policy and Intervention, and an Honorary Lecturer in Psychiatry and Mental Health at the University of Cape Town.
“She works closely with the South African government, USAID-PEPFAR, UNICEF, the World Health Organisation and Save the Children, and with other international NGOs, to provide research evidence that can improve the lives of children affected by HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Tom was also previously in a relationship with actress Susannah Fielding and had been linked to close pal Elizabeth Olsen last year, but they denied that anything romantic was going on between them.
Taylor the tape
TAYLOR: Had a huge hit with Shake It Off in 2014. She owns three multi-million pound pads in US. Likes globe-trotting on her private jet with pals and has 74million likes on Facebook.
LUCIE: Best known work is Young Carers Study. She owns £700,000 terrace in Oxford, and likes running and fine wines. Has 292 Facebook friends.
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