Dara Huang has shared a rare glimpse of her former partner, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, who is now married to Princess Beatrice, as she joined the viral “2016” throwback trend on Instagram.
The 42-year-old reflected on hiding her pregnancy at work and recalled an emotional moment when she and her ex-boyfriend first met their son, Wolfie.
Ms Huang, an architect and founder of Design Haus Liberty, wrote that “2016 was my year of recovery” as she described giving “a presentation to a boardroom of 20 men on my due date” and climbing a ladder to one of London’s largest penthouses while pregnant.
In the post, she said she felt pressure to keep the pregnancy private, writing that “it’s taboo to be pregnant in the UK with all of the maternity laws”.
Ms Huang further described “secretly taking a nap in the trash room”, so nobody would see how tired she was.
She added that she brought her son to interior sites, breastfed for the first three months and “pumped at my desk”, before suggesting attitudes have shifted since lockdown.
The American architect ended her post by encouraging working mothers to “give yourself grace” and not to be too hard on themselves, adding that having her son was “the best decision I ever made in my life”.
One image in the collection showed Mr Mapelli Mozzi standing at the back of a group inside an office, a notable inclusion given he has only rarely appeared on Ms Huang’s Instagram since the couple split in 2018.
Princess Beatrice’s husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi pictured in rare Dara Huang post
|INSTAGRAM: DARA HUANG / GETTY
Ms Huang also posted a separate Instagram story featuring a text slide in which she described the first time she saw Wolfie, writing that his father “had tears streaming down his face” in “this warm light”, adding it was “one of those snapshots that I can’t forget”.
The affectionate reference to her ex contrasted with previous comments in which she suggested the breakup had been difficult.
Ms Huang shares Wolfie, full name Christopher Woolf, with Mr Mapelli Mozzi, who went on to marry Princess Beatrice in 2020. Wolfie was born in 2016 and is part of Beatrice’s blended family with her husband.
Beatrice and Mr Mapelli Mozzi are also parents to two daughters.
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Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi pictured second from right on Dara Huang's Instagram
|INSTAGRAM: DARA HUANG
Their eldest, Sienna, was born in 2021, and they welcomed a second daughter, Athena Elizabeth Rose Mapelli Mozzi, in January 2025.
The post comes as attention has remained on the wider York family, with reports in recent days claiming Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s move from Royal Lodge is progressing.
Photographs have showed that preparations are underway at a property on the Sandringham estate ahead of a relocation.
Dara Huang spoke about Mr Mapelli Mozzi on her Instagram story in a rare post
|INSTAGRAM: DARA HUANG
Reports have also suggested that Princess Eugenie has taken a firmer stance towards her father, with claims she has “cut off” contact amid continued fallout over his past.
Observers have pointed to a contrast with Beatrice, who has been portrayed in recent coverage as trying to navigate the family situation more quietly while focusing on life with her husband and young children.
The different approaches have been framed as highlighting the pressures on the sisters as the family deals with the practical and reputational consequences of Andrew’s next steps.