I’m A Celebrity fans certainly weren’t happy to see Alex Scott become the first celebrity to go home this week on ITV, but she will be returning home to the loving arms of her partner Jess Glynne.
During her time in the jungle, the sports pundit, 41, revealed that before meeting the 36-year-old musician she ‘never knew happiness’.
Chatting to comedian Ruby Wax on the ITV show, the former footballer remembered Jess’ gutsy entrance into her life at a Marylebone celebrity hangout spot.
‘She approached me in Chiltern Firehouse,’ Alex said, ‘I was in there with my friends and she just walked up to me… [It was] really ballsy and I was like, I like your ballsiness, and then the spark was just instant and then yeah… We fell madly in love.’
When quizzed about whether wedding bells are on the horizon, Alex said: ‘I will get married to her, just waiting for her to ask, Rubes!’
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Jess – who is behind that viral Jet2 song, Hold My Hand – was quick to respond, taking to her Instagram Stories to write: ‘I better go get a ring.’ Things are going well, then…
The singer has since explained why she wasn’t at the end of the I’m A Celebrity rope bridge to meet her girlfriend Down Under, revealing that she hadn’t been able to fly over as her mother had suffered a ‘major’ stroke.
Signing off with a red heart emoji, she added: ‘Alex would always want me to be where I’m needed most. I can’t wait to have her back by my side.’
When did Jess Glynne and Alex Scott start dating?
While Alex and Jess had appeared out and about together on a number of occasions in 2023 – from a press night in May, to Wimbledon in July – no one knew their relationship was romantic until October that year.
A source claiming to be a close friend told The Sun at the time: ‘Alex and Jess have been a slow burn and they didn’t want to rush things or go public too soon.
‘But they’re officially an item now and seem really happy. They are both strong, independent women with a shared passion and respect of their respective careers, supporting one another from the sidelines.’
They added that both women had met each other’s friends and everyone was ‘super-happy for them’, although it is still early days.
Days after news broke, Alex appeared to soft-launch Jess on social media, wishing her a happy birthday with a cute kissing emoji.
This timeline checks out with Jess’ interview with Metro in June that year, following her years-long hiatus from music, in which she said: ‘Life is a crazy thing and we learn and we grow and we become more comfortable in our skin and more sure of who we are and I feel like I’m in a really good place.’
What have they said about their relationship?
Former Lioness Alex said Rather Be hitmaker Jess was the one who pushed her to take part in I’m A Celeb.
‘It is a test for both of us. I know she is at home, and she is going to be my biggest cheerleader, supporting me, and she really wanted me to do this because she knew that I wanted to test myself, and it is going to be a challenge for us both being separated. But I suppose that is what makes the heart grow fonder, right?’ she said before going into the jungle.
Alex also admitted they were intentionally private about their relationship in the early days.
‘We were very guarded and private at the start because we wanted to just get to know each other and let what it was blossom and us figure it out ourselves before it was out there for the world,’ she said.
Alex then said of their relationship: ‘We are just two people that are genuinely so in love and just care for each other and want each other both to just thrive and do the best in life. But we just want to do it together.’
The adoration goes both ways, as Jess said on the Scott Mills Breakfast Show in August: ‘She is a special one, it’s the same for both of us. It’s so crazy when you meet that person and everything just feels great.’
Jess said the pair make a ‘good team’, and added: ‘I’m just so in awe of everything she’s achieved, it’s incredible.’
The singer also previously showered Alex with affection on social media, posting a picture of them together and quoting the lyrics to her hit song with Clean Bandit: ‘When I am with you there’s no place I’d rather be.’
Who has Alex Scott dated before?
In 2022, in her memoir How (Not) To Be Strong, Alex revealed she dated fellow Lioness Kelly Smith for eight years from 2005.
‘I went back and forth on whether I’d actually be writing the chapter,’ she said at her book launch event.
‘But then it was one of those moments, I’m writing this book and I want to tell everything. I thought I’d be cheating you all if I didn’t put that in there. And for me, it’s like that first love story, I fell madly and deeply in love.’
Having previously told The Times she was ‘too bruised’ from her split with Kelly to get into another relationship, Alex appeared to be largely single until Jess came along.
That’s aside from one date she attempted with Coronation Street actor Sam Robertson in 2020, which she revealed was interrupted by a member of the public asking her for a photo.
Who has Jess Glynne dated before?
It’s unclear who Jess has dated in the past, though she told ES Magazine that the moment she got her record deal in 2013 she was ‘broken-hearted’.
‘She just f***ed me over. It was the first girl I’d ever fallen in love with. I’ve never said that to anyone,’ she said, adding: ‘It was a relationship that was so new to me. Someone I met working.’
In the 2015 interview, she continued: ‘I don’t know what I want now – to be with a guy, with a girl, be with anyone. I’m so content with just doing this and seeing where it all takes me.’
Jess Glynne and Alex Scott’s dating timeline
Alex and Jess were striking up a romance unbeknownst to their fans. They posed together at a press event and no one clocked their close bond.
They enjoyed watching the tennis together at Wimbledon in July, but no one realised they were in a romantic relationship.
The pair were pictured looking friendly in North London, with reports claiming they’d been dating ‘for months’ and were by this point officially an item. Alex then soft launched Jess on social media with a sweet post.
The famous duo smooched on the Brit Awards red carpet, heavily hinting that things were going swimmingly…
A version of this article was originally published on November 19.
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