Declan Donnelly on 'strange' aspect of Ali Astall romance after meeting at work

I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! star, Declan Donnelly, shares daughter, Isla, and son, Jack, with wife, Ali Astall, who used to be the Geordie's manager

Declan Donnelly has admitted his romance with wife, Ali Astall, was somewhat "strange" after they met through work.

The pair had known each other for a decade before dating officially and going on to tie the knot in 2015 and welcome daughter, Isla, in 2018 and son, Jack, in 2022.

Ali, 43, worked as Dec’s manager for more than 10 years before love finally blossomed between the pair. During that time she watched the I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! star, 49, embark on relationships with actress Clare Buckfield and Sky Sports presenter, Georgie Thompson.

When Dec and Clare split in 2003, he is rumoured to have taken things to the next level with Ali. However it didn't work out the first time around, but it was a sterling success 10 years later.

When they finally got together in 2013, Dec expressed his joy, but admitted his relationship with Ali was slightly "strange". He told The Sun: "It’s going good. Everything’s hunky-dory. It was a little strange because we’ve had a working relationship for so long. But because it just happened there was no big ta-da. Things couldn’t be better for me at the minute."

An inside told the Mirror at the time that Ali had been in love with Dec “for a very long time” and stayed single as she “held out for him”.

And it didn’t take long for Dec to feel the same, as we exclusively revealed the pair were engaged in November 2014. Dec popped the question in Australia while he was filming I’m A Celeb just a few months after he and Ali moved in together. Friends described the pair as being “completely besotted with each other”, adding they had been “best friends” for a long time.

Dec and Ali got married on August 1, 2015 in a star-studded ceremony in his native Newcastle, which was conducted by his brother, Father Dermott Donnelly.

His pal Ant was of course best man. Other stars to make the guestlist included Fearne Cotton, Paddy McGuinness, Philip Schofield, Holly Willoughby, Andi Peters, Leigh Francis, Vernon Kay and Tess Daly.

After the ceremony, Dec tweeted: “Thank you for all the kind and lovely messages, they are appreciated. My wife and I had the most amazing, magical, wonderful day. D x.”

In March 2018, they announced the happy news Ali was pregnant with their first baby. Their daughter Isla Elizabeth Anne Donnelly was born on September 1 that year, meaning she is coming up to her fourth birthday.

Then, on July 28, 2022 the couple’s second child was born – this time a boy. Proud dad Dec revealed their son was called Jack Anthony Alphonsus, adding he is a “very welcome ray of light” and Isla is “beyond excited” to be a big sister.

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