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ShareLondon: Silvio Berlusconi had lied about being an old friend of the family of the 18-year-old lingerie model whose birthday party precipitated the Italian premier's divorce, her former boyfriend has claimed.
According to Gino Flaminio, Berlusconi called teenage model Noemi Letizia "out of the blue after seeing some of her photos" and the Italian leader was not her family's friend as he had claimed, the Daily Mail reported.
The 22-year-old former boyfriend claimed they split up as she was spending too much time with the 72-year-old wealthy politician. "She stopped being the Noemi or little anchovy, as I called her, that I knew."
Flaminio said how Berlusconi and her ex-girlfriend's relationship began around last October when Letizia had done a photo shoot for her book and sent it to an agency in Rome. The portfolio was picked up by Berlusconi's friend, who later went to the premier's house and inadvertently left it there.
"One afternoon while she was studying, Berlusconi personally called her -- not his secretary or assistant. He asked her questions for several minutes before revealing his identity," he said.
Flaminio also claimed that he often listened in when the pair spoke -- in fact in one call, the premier asked about Letizia's schooling, interests, her parents. "Berlusconi had a fatherly attitude and I didn't like it. I told her I didn't like it. She is a sweet and innocent girl.
The allegations came as Berlusconi said on Monday that he would explain his relationship with Letizia, whom he gave a a gold and diamond necklace on her birthday.
