10 June 2024 , 15:20
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Alison Hammond has been dating a much younger model and masseur in recent months but it could be that history is repeating itself and she is once again single.
Alison Hammond has won over audiences with her bubbly charm on TV, but away from the cameras she has endured some doomed romances. The This Morning star called off her engagement with the father of her son when she was in her thirties, and also reportedly ended her engagement to gardener beau Ben Hawkins.
The 49-year-old Brummie, who is the new face of ITV's For the Love of Dogs, taking over from the late Paul O'Grady as the host of his heartwarming series, has made it clear that she's comfortable on her own, saying she enjoys her own company and has "never felt lonely."
But in recent months, the much-loved presenter has been spotted with David Putnam, a model and masseur, who at 29 is much younger than her. When Alison shared pictures of their dates on Instagram, a source told the Sun how content she was him: "Alison has never been happier. She has had a turbulent love-life, but is finally confident she has found a trusted companion. They looked just like honeymooners," they said.
She confirmed the romance in May on Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe's podcast Parenting Hell, when she said: "I'm not single, I'm dating." Alison also said her 19 year old son Aiden had given David his seal of approval when she spoke about what he thought of his mum's boyfriends.
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Alison snuggles up to David (Instagram/ @alisonhammond55)
Alison and David enjoy a meal together (Instagram/ @alisonhammond55)"It's more difficult, he is more verbal now that he is older," she said. "He'll want to know who this person is and he’ll want to meet them. The person who I am seeing at the moment, he is on his Instagram and is like 'yeah I like him, he's not too in your face'. Aiden is on it. When they met, he really liked him and thought he was lovely. And thank goodness for that! Normally, Aiden hates anyone I date."
However just days later, it emerged David's mum Olga was reportedly unhappy about the pairing. "Olga's traditional values don't sit well with their relationship. She's uncomfortable that her son is with someone who has so much more financial power than him," a source told Heat. She's told him that he must end it. She calls David almost every day and tells him how unhappy she is. But David is happy with his relationship, so anything his mum says isn't going to affect him."
It could be that his mum's opinion did matter though as in recent weeks the couple seem to have spent more time apart. Last month David went on a 'dream' birthday trip to romantic Italy - without Alison. He shared a reel of the places he visited, including Lake Como, with images of the meals he ate alone. He captioned it, "I went on a mission called. 'Happy birthday to Me'," with Alison commenting, "you deserve it" alongside a heart emoji.
More recently, the former Big Brother housemate took part in a Q&A and avoided answering questions about David. When she was asked "where do you see yourself in five years?", she paused, then smiled and vaguely said: "I'll be 54!" When she was asked if she was happy, she swerved directly answering and used her media training to respond: "Happiness comes from within".
While it remains unclear if Alison has finally found the man for her, The Mirror takes a look back at her previous romances over the years, including her failed engagement and refusal to marry...
Called off engagement
Alison was mum of the year when she took son Aiden to Stormzy's 30th birthday party (Dave Benett/Getty Images for #Merky)As Alison's loyal social media followers and This Morning fans will know, Alison is very devoted to her 19-year-old son Aiden who lives with her in London. Alison shares her teen with cab driver Noureddine Boufaied. The pair got engaged when Alison was 30 but they never actually tied the knot. While the relationship didn't last, the pair remain fond of each other with Alison describing her former love as a "lovely guy with a beautiful smile".
Speaking to Gyles Brandreth on his podcast Rosebud, she said: "A lot of people think I've been married… I've never been married. If you look online, it's like, 'Alison was married to Aiden's dad', but I wasn't. We never actually got married. It was the perfect time but I don't feel like we were ready. He had the most beautiful smile and that's what I fell in love with… Aiden's got that smile as well."
Elaborating on her reason for never walking down the aisle, Alison brutally revealed she didn't want to feel 'tied down'. "I think as soon as I hear the word marriage I get like cold feet," she admitted. "I think I'm just one of those people. [...] I just feel like I'm tied down and I don't like it, when really and truly, I'm getting to that age now where I just think 'Alison, let go - it's okay to settle down'."
The mum-of-one added: "I always just get a bit nervous to like be ... know that is it." Boufaied and Alison welcomed their first son together on her 30th birthday. Recalling her labour, Alison said: "He was there. He was loving it. He hadn't bought me a present, so I was a bit miffed because I was like, 'I can't believe it's my birthday and you haven't even bought me flowers or a card."
Past romances
Last year, it was revealed Alison had found love with a 'hunky' gardener after years of living the single life. The mum-of-one was said to have settled down with green-fingered Ben Hawkins after employing him to tend to her West Midlands garden. It's thought the pair had managed to keep the romance secret for over a year before the news finally emerged.
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Alison was seen with a beaming broad smile as she was papped leaving Ben's house first thing in the morning. She later gushed on her ITV daytime show that she had found 'someone special' in her life. It was rumoured that Alison and Ben had also got engaged, with Dermot O'Leary even pausing This Morning to congratulate his co-star. Cutting the party in the studio, Alison cried: "I told you, if I was ever to get engaged or get married I would be the first person to tell you! I'd put all over Instagram and TikTok!"
Alison on a date with Ben Kusi as part of the Celebs Go Dating show (SplashNews.com)
Alison Hammond's ex-husband is cab driver Noureddine BoufaiedHowever, the romance hit the rocks behind the scenes and she even hinted that the relationship was over for good as she told Holly Willoughby she was wearing a 'single ring' to let potential suitors know her status without having to ask. Alison said: "More people are wanting to meet people out and about and having a green ring might be a good idea so that people know you're single. As you can see, I've got my single ring on." Holly told her: "Hopefully you won't need it for a lifetime."
In March 2024, Alison hinted at her doomed love life, with a cryptic social media post. She took to her Instagram Stories to repost a funny meme about falling in love with the wrong person, showing a racoon and dog cuddled up and looking loved-up as they posed for a picture. "Me in love with the wrong person again," the original poster captioned the shot.
Alison didn't add any comment as she shared the post with her 1.5million followers. Despite being single for large portions of her adult life, Alison insists she's not missing out. "I absolutely love my own company. I have no problem with being on my own. In fact, I really quite like it. I think that's why I struggle in relationships, because I don't want somebody around me all the time. I absolutely love being on my own. I'm OK with it. I've never felt lonely," she told the Mirror.
Before gardener Ben, Alison endured a doomed stint on romance reality show Celebs Go Dating. She briefly dated audio technician Ben Fusi but the romance didn't last. Unfortunately for Alison neither did her memory of Ben's name as she confessed her mind was blank when asked to recall their love on This Morning. "Oh no, he's going to be watching! What's his name?" she repeated, before adding: "I'm so sorry."
Celebrity crush
Alison Hammond marrying Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson (ITV)While a whole host of famous men have fallen for Alison's charms, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has held a place for the Brummie native close to his heart. The wrestler-turned-mega-movie star even refers to Alison as his 'ex-wife' following their excessive flirting over the years.
The Hollywood actor 'proposed' to Alison during an interview in 2017 with the pair staging a mock wedding on the ITV show months later. He even took the time out to congratulate Alison on her National Television Award nomination last year.
"Alison, I want to tell you – we've known each other for a long time but I'm so happy for you. You're doing so great, you've been nominated for all these National TV Awards, you've been incredible, so congratulations!" he gushed as he blew her a kiss. "We've got to get married again!" he added.
A version of this story was first published in April 2024.