Denise Van Outen reveals she would struggle to date if it weren’t for one thing
Denise Van Outen has opened up about her love life in the wake of her split from ex-boyfriend Jimmy Barba in 2023.
The presenter, 50, was dating the property developer, 57, for 18 months after being introduced by their mutual friend, All Saints singer Shaznay Lewis.
Van Outen revealed she relies on dating apps to meet men as she struggles to be introduced to new people in the countryside.
Speaking to The Sun, Van Outen said: “Actually, for me, dating apps are a really good thing. I don’t know how else I would meet people if I wasn’t doing that.
“When I was younger, there was the option to go out, but now I live in the country, it’s not like I’m able to just go to the pub,’ she added. “Even if I went to my local, they’re all my neighbours who I know anyway, so that’s of no value to me.”
Instead, Van Outen revealed she has been using the exclusive celebrity dating app Raya and has gone on “quite a few dates with different people”. “I’ve seen so many celebrities [on Raya],” she shared. “But you aren’t allowed to say who is on there.”
The presenter added that she hasn’t been particularly active on the dating app during the winter months but will line up more dates as summer approaches. “Watch this space,” she said.
Elsewhere in the interview, Van Outen – who shares her daughter Betsy, 14 with her ex-husband Lee Mead – admitted being a single mother can make it more difficult to meet new people. “I can’t just go out on a week night to a pub to meet someone,” she said.
“The only way I can do it is through an app. When I go out to DJ, I’m actually working and I don’t hang around. I’m in and out of the venue, so I don’t get to speak to people.”
The presenter isn’t alone in her reliance on apps, some 37 per cent of millennials have met a romantic partner on a dating app or website, according to YPulse’s February 2023 Dating and Relationships Report.
Van Outen was reportedly “smitten” with Barba prior to their break up in 2023. Fans first noticed the couple may have separated after the presenter focused on her busy work schedule and stopped posting him on social media.
Confirming the break up to The Sun weeks later, the former Big Breakfast host said: “We have decided to part ways, but we remain great friends, and our families and children are still in touch.”
Prior to her relationship with Barba, Van Outen broke up with Eddie Boxshall in 2022 following seven years of dating after she discovered him exchanging explicit messages with other women.
In her autobiography, A Bit Of Me: From Basildon To Broadway And Back, Van Outen shared: “Among [his] photos was a screenshot…of a woman’s breasts – and they definitely weren’t mine!”
“Also, there was a flirty text exchange between Eddie and this woman, which, of course, set off alarm bells,” she added.
Before Boxshall, Van Outen was married to actor and singer Lee Mead for four years before splitting in 2013. The pair met in 2007 when Mead won the TV talent competition Any Dream Will Do, on which she was a judge.
“Denise van Outen and Lee Mead are sad to confirm they have decided to separate,” their joint statement said at the time. “The couple remain the best of friends, with their daughter Betsy as their number one priority. The family ask for privacy at this time.”
