Celebrity Gogglebox's Denise van Outen has shared details of her new relationship, explaining why she had initially decided to keep it on the down low.
The singer and presenter has a new partner after the split from former fiancé Eddie Boxshall. She and Boxshall parted ways in January this year after eights years together.
In an interview on Steph's Packed Lunch on Channel 4, van Outen said she and new partner Jimmy Barba stayed home for their first dates.
"When I started going out with Jimmy, we had to stay indoors for most of our first dates because we wanted to get to know each other outside of the public eye… So when we went on our very first date it was like we'd been let loose, we went crazy," she said.
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"We'd spent weeks sitting in my kitchen just chatting and having a lovely time getting to know each other, and we went out and it was like coming out of lockdown."
When it was time to bring the relationship to the outside world, van Outen was ready to throw caution to the wind.
"The first meal we went for, we went to a Turkish restaurant, and we sat in the car park in separate cars and I said: 'It looks empty, we'll go in.' So we were the only two in there… it was nice actually but it was very quiet…" she said.
"The second time we braved it and went out when other people were there. To be honest, I was oblivious to anybody else in the restaurant because I was too busy snogging him!"
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For the Dancing on Ice star, going out in public with Jimmy felt "nice" as she had the chance to glam up as opposed to staying home.
"It was reversed. Couples normally go out on loads of dates and then start staying in but with the situation, we just wanted to keep it private," she explained.
"It was really nice, we did a lot of talking… Also he hadn't seen me really dressed up. You know when you're at home, I was just casual because I didn't want to look like I'd made too much of an effort, even though I had planned what I was wearing. Then it was nice to get dressed up and go out."
Gogglebox airs on Friday nights at 9pm on Channel 4.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
