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The news broke yesterday that James Middleton had broken up with his girlfriend of several years, Donna Air. If you’re any kind of long-term Middleton-watcher, you probably expected this. James and Donna’s relationship always seemed a little bit… tricky. Yes, let’s go with “tricky.” When there were conversations about what to do about Poor James just after William and Kate got married, someone decided that what James really needed was an image update, a beard, a new career (marshmallows!), and a somewhat high-profile girlfriend. Enter Donna Air. Donna Air is one of those only-famous-in-Britain types, like she’s described as a “model and TV presenter” in the UK and she’s described as “who?” everywhere else. She seemed pretty harmless actually, and I sometimes get the feeling that she did her best to try to improve James’ image.

Skip ahead a few years and James Middleton is still an utter business failure, plus he’s getting hit with criticism that he (and his whole family) are a bunch of “pushy and useless” hangers-on. Maybe Donna Air had enough. Maybe James decided he needed a new image. Maybe Carole Middleton is planning something new.

Royal brother-in-law James Middleton is back on the market. The businessman and younger brother of the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton has split from his girlfriend of two years, Donna Air, a Middleton family source confirms to Us Weekly. (The Sun was first to break the news.)

According to the source, the pair had a “difference of interests.”

“James is not looking to get married at the moment, he’s not in a rush,” the source says. “I think Donna wanted to settle down. The timing wasn’t right for either of them.”

[From Us Weekly]

Just my opinion: I don’t believe they had a difference of interests, I think they had the same interest, which was “men.” Maybe I’m wrong. E! News also had some interesting details from an unnamed source:

“Unfortunately this split has been on the cards for months, since Donna accompanied the Middletons to St. Barts,” a source told E! News, referring to the family’s vacation in late August. “Donna desperately wanted make it work but James has been distant for a long time. Sadly the age gap did put pressure on the relationship, for although she already has a daughter, James did always feel like she perhaps wanted to start a family, and that is not where he is at all,” the source said. “Donna is devastated, she’s putting on a brave face, but this is a massive blow.”

Another source told E! News Air never really fit in with the Middletons and never “gelled” with his mother, Carole Middleton, 60, or sister Pippa, 32.

“Donna is very sensitive and took this quite personally,” the source said. “Of course, the Middletons were friendly to her, but Donna always felt like she wasn’t totally part of the family. She and James had very, very different upbringings. There’s no one else involved at this stage, but James is hot property, so no doubt there will queues of eligible women throwing themselves at him!” the source added.

[From E! News]

Oh ho ho, Donna didn’t get along with Carole? OFF WITH HER HEAD! Queen Carole will not stand for this! And E!’s source is pretty generous by calling James a “hot property,” right? Anyway, no one really cared if James ever got around to marrying Donna and it’s perfectly possible that her contract just expired. What surprises me is that Carole Middleton hasn’t pushed one or both of her unmarried children into a high-profile engagement and marriage. I think Carole was angling for Pippa to “marry up,” hopefully within the aristocracy, but that’s not happening. I wonder if Carole thinks she can marry off James to some aristocratic girl now?

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Photos courtesy of WENN.
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