Wedding ring is still on the long f inger for busy Gráinne
GRÁINNE Seoige has said she has no plans to get married any time soon – despite being engaged for almost five years.
The former TV presenter has been engaged to ex-rugby player Leon Jordaan since November 2013, but admits they’re just too busy right now with their diamond business to tie the knot.
‘It will happen, it’s just when is the thing,’ she told the Irish Daily Mail. The 44-year-old Galway native, who relocated with her fiancé to his native South Africa in 2016, added: ‘It’s just, I think the level of difficulty when his family are from there [South Africa], and mine are from here, and trying to find a time of the year when the hemispheres are literally in opposite seasons. It’s not as easy as it looks.
‘We keep saying, “This year, it’s going to happen”.’ However, she added: ‘We launched a new business – they are like having small children. It takes up all your energy.’ The Gaeilgeoir went on to say that if she was given a time and place, she’d be happy to hand over the planning to someone else.
‘Leon is also working full-time himself, so I think somebody must just say, “Look there’s a place booked there, just turn up in a white gúna” and I’ll go, “Great!”’ she laughed.
Ditching the traditional wedding all together and getting hitched in Las Vegas has even crossed the mother-of-one’s mind, as she said the pair have ‘joked’ about eloping. However, she said she wouldn’t want her family to miss her wedding.
‘We’ve joked about doing that, about going to somewhere like Vegas or to Cape Town, just the two of us,’ she said. ‘But my family are very important to me, and having Síle [her TV host sister] there and my mam and my special friends would be important.’
While Gráinne’s connections with Ireland are still strong, she said that she currently doesn’t have any plans to move back from South Africa. ‘We’re working very hard over there and the business is going well,’ she said.
Gráinne was speaking as the Irish Coast Guard was honoured by the People of the Year Awards ahead of the ceremony at Dublin’s Mansion House tomorrow.
She will present the event for the 11th time this weekend, and said: ‘Each year I look forward to meeting the deserving winners and being part of such a special occasion.’