Elizabeth Chambers feels her family is stronger than ever.
During an exclusive interview with Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” podcast at her BIRD Bakery location in Grand Cayman, the mom of two — who shares daughter Harper, 9, and son Ford, 7, with ex-husband Armie Hammer — revealed how the challenges she faced in their divorce benefited her kids.
“Adversity is not the worst thing that can happen to children,” she told us in the Caribbean, where she recently filmed her new Freeform reality series “Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise.”
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“I had to keep in mind during my divorce, like, ‘This is not what I envisioned’ — but also, how to pivot is ultimately the best thing you can teach your kids in life,” she continued, emphasizing that “communication and honesty and openness” are also paramount qualities to instill as a parent.
Chambers, 41, and Hammer, 37, tied the knit in 2010, but eventually announced their split in July 2020.
After they called it quits, the “Call Me by Your Name” actor was accused by multiple women of sordid forms of abuse — allegations he has strongly denied but were covered extensively by the media and in the 2022 Discovery+ docuseries doc “House of Hammer.”
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ENTER HEREAmid the scandal, Chambers prioritized her children’s well-being. Part of that, she said, was bringing her bakery to Grand Cayman.
“That’s exactly why I opened here,” said the entrepreneur, who also has several stateside BIRD Bakery locations in Denver, Dallas and San Antonio.
“I can’t leave here without roots and these are roots for them. I hope that when they have their kids and I’m a grandmother, that we come to Bird Bakery after the beach. That would be my hope for them, that they have an identity here … something that we created during a pretty magical time.”
Chambers and Hammer relocated to Grand Cayman in 2020, not long before they parted ways as a married couple. Despite the ups and downs of a public breakup, the TV host and journalist is proud of creating a safe space on the island for her children to thrive in.
“All things considered, the last four years have been pure magic in their eyes — which is all that matters,” she explained. “We live in gratitude, we live in abundance, we live in the moment and adventure.”
Chambers noted that signing on to participate in a glossy docu-soap — for which she served as a producer — was certainly an experience.
“It was an adventure,” she told us of filming “Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise.”
“It was something totally out of the box for me but also, you don’t always want to be so safe.”
While Chambers was thrilled to document the experience of expanding her business in Grand Cayman, she never expected that her castmates would be so vocal in sharing their opinions about her headline-making Hammer divorce — which was settle in July 2023 — throughout production.
“What happens in my family stays in my family. What happens in my personal life stays in my personal life,” she stated. “And so if people want to have ideas or speculation or think that they know a reality that is not a reality, they don’t.”
The show also stars former Victoria’s Secret Angel Selita Ebanks, plus an eclectic group of locals and expats including Courtney McTaggart, Craig Jervis, Julian Foster, Aaron Bernardo, Cass Lacelle, Victoria Coleman, Trevor Coleman, Chelsea Flynn, Teri Bilewitch, Dillon Classes and Connor Bunney.
But Chambers — who only considered Foster a close pal before filming commenced — told “Virtual Reali-Tea” that nothing compares to hanging with her little ones.
“They are my favorite humans in the world and there’s no one I’d rather hang out with,” she said, joking that she doesn’t “exactly honor” their 7 p.m. bedtime because she loves chatting with Harper and Ford before shuteye.
“I don’t want them to go to bed at night! I know they should go to bed at 7. But I don’t want to not, like, have our chats … I love chatting with them.”
“Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise” airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET on Freeform, with new episodes available the next day on Hulu.
