Michelle Stone

Michelle Stone, nee. Spencer, (b. 9th November 1962) was the socialite daughter of Elizabeth and Gerald Spencer. She chose to study her Undergraduate Degree in Literature in Paris, focusing on French Literature.

Whilst in Paris, Michelle met her first husband, Kenneth Delos. They had three children; Gabriel, Luca and Clarisse before the breakdown of their marriage and their return to the U.K.

Michelle did not tell her parents about her ex-husband and children, and quickly married Lewis Stone at her parents' request. With her second husband, Michelle had two daughters; Aurora and Aileen.

Early Years
Michelle was born on the 9th November 1962 to Elizabeth and Gerald Spencer. She was a London Socialite, growing up with more money than sense.

University
Michelle chose to study French Literature at Undergraduate level in Paris as she aspired to work in Publishing and wanted to be unique amongst the applicants.

Life In Paris
Whilst studying for her degree, she met Kenneth Delos in the year 1983, and they started a relationship. Neither of them told their parents and when Michelle fell pregnant with their first child Gabriel they secretly eloped.

Gabriel was born on the 27th June 1984 and they had their second son, Luca on the 17th October 1988 and on the 10th March 1993 they had their daughter Clarisse.

Shortly after, in the September of 1993, Michelle left her family and returned to the UK. She requested a divorce and accepted her parents' wishes that she marry Lewis Stone.

She didn't tell her parents about her French family until much later.

Her Second Marriage
Lewis Stone and Michelle married in the Spring of 1994 and had their first daughter, Aurora, on the 17th April 1995 and their second daughter, Aileen on the 30th September 1997.

Stone Publishing
Lewis and Michelle shared an interest in literature and together they developed Stone Publishing.

Later Life
Michelle would always regret abandoning her children and would eventually tell her husband and parents about her time in Paris.

She developed a dependency on Alcohol, especially after an estrangement with her daughter Aileen, feeling that she had failed yet another child.

With Lewis's encouragement, Michelle was able to cultivate relationships with her sons but Clarisse was unwilling to meet her, until the story was leaked to the press in the run up to her brother, Gabriel's Mayoral Election Campaign. Michelle would eventually begin to build bridges with Clara and would even be there to witness the birth of her Granddaughter Jasmine Contius.

Physical Appearance
Michelle is blonde with deep blue eyes. She is a very beautiful woman. She always dresses elegantly with her hair in a french knot. She has laughter lines around her eyes, although her daughters can't remember her truly laughing. She wears a sort of mask, "a public face."

Personality & Traits
Michelle was a very proud woman, highly controlling and with many flaws. She made countless mistakes and felt great shame. She is very tenacious and doesn't give up easily. She has a very strong character and always says what she thinks.

Pet Peeves

 * Michelle dislikes nicknames.
 * Michelle always corrects people when they make grammatical errors.
 * Michelle does not like sarcasm.

Her Husband
Lewis Stone was initially just a man that her parents were pushing her towards but she later grew to love him. They had many shared interests and would grow old together, for the most part happily. He would never be enough to fully ease her regrets.

Her Ex-Husband
Kenneth Delos would always be her first love. Although their marriage ended tragically and for the most part, Michelle blames herself for its demise, she doesn't regret her second husband and the family they built together. She wishes that she had been wiser and less selfish and then perhaps she wouldn't have hurt Kenneth.

Her Parents
Michelle's relationship with her parents Elizabeth and Gerald Spencer, was greatly damaged by her secret marriage. They were devasted that she didn't tell them until years later, causing them to miss out on three of their grandchildren's lives.

Gabriel Delos
Perhaps the most forgiving of her five children, Gabriel is very pragmatic. He, unlike his younger siblings, has plenty of memories of Michelle being his "mum" and their life as a family in Paris. He keeps a polite, almost formal distance from his mum, meeting her for the occasional lunch, but he bears her no ill will.

Luca Delos
Luca wants a relationship with his mother and so tries to put the past behind them, but finds it easier to say than do.

Aurora Stone
Aurora has always felt a lot of pressure from her parents, and in particular her mum to be perfect. When she learns of her mother's other family, she's furious and struggles to accept it, although she's keen to get to know her siblings.

Aileen Stone
Aileen has always felt like the black sheep of the family, the rebellious one. When she was Seventeen she fell pregnant and her parents insisted she have the baby adopted. This severely damaged Michelle's relationship with Aileen. Aileen did as asked but then proceeded to estrange herself from her parents, refusing their money, support and even time. She supported herself through University and only began to build bridges with her parents when her father asked her to lead a LA branch of Stone Publishing.

Michelle believes that Aileen hates her.

The Rules Series
Michelle appears as an almost villian in the first series, as the parent supposedly restricting Aurora Stone's ability to make her own choices. Although Aurora would later learn that she was responsible for her choices and she couldn't use her parents' rules and expectations as excuses not to create her own life plans.

Broken Rules

 * Michelle is mentioned several times in Aurora's internal dialogue before her first appearance in Chapter Seven.
 * Michelle is first seen at her house in Surrey when Aurora goes to her parents' house for dinner.

The History Series
Again Michelle is a sort of villian. She's the mother that abandoned Clara. We see them begin to mend their relationship and in A History in Paris Michelle is given the opportunity to tell her story.