Having gone public with her new boyfriend Jimmy Barba last month, Denise Van Outen’s relationship seems to be going from strength-to-strength, with the couple returning from their first holiday together last week.
Denise, 48, and Jimmy, 55, shared loved-up pics of each other away in Marbella, posing selfies by the pool, and showing off the cocktails and tapas they enjoyed together.
And reports later claimed that Denise and Jimmy have even been discussing living together, with an insider saying, “They love spending as much time together as possible and the next natural step is moving in.”
And a source tells Closer, “Denise has fallen hard and fast for Jimmy. He has come along at just the right moment and although it’s early days, Denise is so happy she doesn’t see much point in hanging around in taking things to the next stage.”
Denise’s newfound happiness comes after her shocking split from fiancé Eddie Boxshall in February. She had discovered evidence he had been having phone sex with another woman, and swapped explicit texts with another – something he later admitted to doing.
The betrayal hit Denise hard, and she spoke out after the split, saying she felt “traumatised” and barely knew how she would get through the days after the discovery. At the time she said, “I couldn’t breathe... I felt like someone was sitting on my chest, literally could not breathe… You get that knot in your stomach, and it won’t go, and you’re like, ‘When will this feeling leave me?’”
The pair had been together for seven years and were set to get married next year. The heartbreak didn’t just hit Denise, but also affected her 12-year-old daughter Betsy, who she shares with her ex-husband, Lee Mead.
But a source now says that Denise’s past heartbreak has made the couple all the more smitten, with Jimmy vowing never to let her down like men in the past have.
The source adds, “Jimmy is aware that Denise has been let down in the past. He has no intention of hurting her or doing anything to break her heart. There was a period after she split with Eddie that Denise thought it might be easier to just stay single. But Jimmy has changed all of that. He’s made her feel so safe and secure and happier than ever.”
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