Last year, Denise Van Outen was rendered heartbroken when long-term boyfriend Eddie Boxshall called time on their relationship. But to her credit, she's wiped away the tears and found solace in the arms of a new man.
After being introduced to Jimmy Barba by her pals, the actress was instantly smitten, quickly tumbling into a relationship with the 55-year-old.
And in news that will please her fans, she fully trusts her new partner to treat her right.
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With full faith in her friends to set her up with the ideal guy, Denise is full of confidence that she's found the perfect man.
With the star set to release M&S’s Macmillan charity single, That’s What Friends Are For, with Blue star Duncan James, she couldn't be happier. And as it turns out, her singing buddy goes way back with her other half.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, she said: "Duncan actually knew him already as he used to be a professional dancer, so he got his seal of approval straight away.
“Jimmy used to dance with All Saints and Diana Ross when he was on the circuit in the Nineties.
“When I told him, Dunc straight away was like, ‘Oh, I love Jimmy, he’s great’."
She continued: “I feel like they fully vetted him for me. But him getting on with my friends wasn’t really a concern this time because I was introduced to Jimmy through Shaznay [Lewis] from All Saints.
“I’ve known those girls since I went to the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and the fact I was introduced to him via my friends who I have known for the best part of my life, I didn’t think I needed to get him vetted. I knew they were never going to set me up with someone who I couldn’t trust.
“I knew they wouldn’t do that to me, and he knows too many people.
“Everywhere I go, somebody knows him. He’s out of the industry now, but he models still.
“I got a phone call from Gary Barlow, and he was like, ‘I can’t believe you are going out with Jim Bob’, and it turned out he had danced with Take That. He had known him for years.”
In a testament to her mental strength, when Eddie split up with Denise, she didn't let it get her down, and instead focused on launching new businesses and pushing her DJ career, even hitting the Isle of Wight Festival.
The performer said: “I am not one to sit there and dwell on things.
“I just pick myself up and turn it into something positive, and there is so much I have to be thankful for.
“I have met so many amazing people via DJ-ing, and I am having a right laugh."
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