BBC presenter Alex Scott is set to enter the I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! jungle on Sunday and the Arsenal icon has endured her fair share of heartache in her personal life
Football icon turned TV favourite Alex Scott faces a completely different type of test as she enters the I’m a Celebrity jungle on Sunday. The BBC stalwart will give viewers a more personal peek behind the curtain, revealing intimate details about the experiences that have moulded her into the woman she is today.
One pivotal period in Scott’s journey relates to her stint at Arsenal, where she racked up 313 matches across three different spells with the club. Yet not every moment of the former right-back’s time in north London brings back happy memories.
During her second stint with the Gunners, the academy product found herself playing alongside Kelly Smith. After both joined Arsenal in 2005, their bond quickly developed into a romance that wasn’t destined to last the long haul.
Scott, who earned 140 caps for England throughout her stellar career, has spoken candidly about falling “madly and deeply in love” with former Arsenal and England colleague Smith. The pair conducted a secret eight-year relationship that eventually had to end, which Scott previously explored in her 2022 autobiography, ‘How (Not) To Be Strong’.
“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,” she told Mirror Football regarding that chapter at the launch of her book three years ago. “For me, it’s like that first love story.
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“I fell madly and deeply in love. Yes, there’s that heartbreak and those things, but it’s a huge part of my life and I wouldn’t go back and change that. Because that feeling of love and that excitement and what it gives you, it needed to be in there.”
Scott, 41, may find it less challenging to reflect on those painful memories today. More than a decade after her relationship with England legend Smith ended, she seems to have found love again with pop star Jess Glynne.
Despite Football Focus host Scott remaining tight-lipped about their relationship, the couple seem utterly smitten. Not only have they been spotted together at red carpet events and other occasions over the past two years, but they’ve also started including each other more openly on their social media accounts.
However, it hasn’t all been plain sailing and Scott has admitted her upbringing affected certain aspects of their relationship. Specifically, she revealed to The Times last year how her “stupidly cruel” father, Tony, stifled her emotions and made it difficult for her to open up to others.
“We weren’t allowed to express emotion,” said Scott. “Dad didn’t allow us to hug each other or say ‘I love you’. It had a huge impact on us all. To this day, if I want to show people love, I’ll do it by taking them out to dinner and paying.
“I remember one of the first times Jess hugged me. I was like… [makes a rigid expression]. She was like, ‘Are you not going to put your arms around me?’ But I didn’t know how to do that. We laugh about it to this day.”
Scott’s father has consistently refuted any claims of providing a poor upbringing. Tony said: “Perhaps she is judging me by today’s standards, I don’t know. Parents were a lot tougher back then. But I was never violent, that’s just not me. I never beat Alex or anyone else in the family or did anything like that.”
Scott has also revealed she and Glynne were hesitant about making their situation public because their relationship “is so special.” However, there’ll be no concealing things over the coming fortnight as she joins an impressive lineup in the Australian wilderness.
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