Denise Van Outen has revealed how she kept her first dates with her new boyfriend Jimmy Barba a secret, a year after her heartbreaking split from her cheating ex fiance Eddie Boxshall.
Pals of the Celebrity Gogglebox star, 48, have said the presenter has fallen "hard and fast" for Jimmy and now she has told all about the first few weeks of their whirlwind romance.
The mum-of-one and the property developer told how she had to stay inside for most of her first dates with Jimmy because they “wanted to get to know each other out of the public eye”.
Speaking on Steph’s Packed Lunch on Channel 4, Denise said: “So when we went on our very first date it was like we’d been let loose, we went crazy.”
Denise continued: “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.
“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…
“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!”
The DJ was asked if she found it awkward starting a relationship at home, but she said she loved doing the dating phase in reserve.
Denise explained: “Couples normally go out on loads of dates and then start staying in but with the situation, we just wanted to keep it private.
“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.”
Earlier this month, her ex-fiancé Eddie Boxshall finally broke his silence on their shock split, revealing that the former power couple haven't spoken a word to each other since going their separate ways.
Celebrity Gogglebox star Denise, 48, announced her shock split from her Eddie after the pair spent seven years together.
At the time, Denise shared her heartache after discovering that her husband-to-be was sending explicit messages to other women behind her back.
Eddie has since acknowledged that he made a "mistake" by sending sexual texts to someone else, and he said he is "deeply sorry" and feels "ashamed".
Steph’s Packed Lunch airs weekdays at 12.30pm on Channel 4 and All 4.
