Alison & Holly’s THERAPY NIGHT
Her friends get her through a tough time
It has been a testing time for Alison Hammond over the past few weeks. Not only is she recently single after splitting from rumoured fiancé Ben Hawkins, but it has emerged that she was reportedly blackmailed for large sums of cash and a BMW worth £5k. Thankfully, the This Morning favourite has proved that tough times show true friends, as the likes of Holly Willoughby, All Saints’ Nicole Appleton and Spice Girl Emma Bunton have been rallying round as she nurses a broken heart. Sharing a group photo on Instagram with her gal pals, Alison, 48, wrote, “Girl therapy night! Needed that.” Emma replied, “We [heart emoji] ya!”
Earlier this year, speculation arose that new Great British Bake Off co-host Alison was engaged to landscape gardener Ben, after a secret two-year romance. However, Alison shut down the possibility of wedding bells after addressing her relationship status on This Morning. She told co-host Dermot O’leary that she was “single” – and told viewers in another instance that she was wearing her “single ring”.
Then came yet more turmoil for the TV star, when it hit headlines that a 36-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of blackmailing her.
The Sun reported that the blackmailer threatened to spread lies about Alison in a bid to throw her career off course if she did not comply with the demands. But it seems as though Alison is determined to close this tumultuous chapter, as she recently shared an empowering video with her 1.3m followers.
As she smiled at the camera, a voiceover reeled off four reasons why she “always wins”. n
‘She wants to close this chapter’
They surprised a lot of fans last summer when they announced that their two-year friendship had turned romantic, but Max George and Maisie Smith have proven the naysayers wrong by taking the next step and moving in together.
And while some of their followers disapprove of the 13-year age gap between Maisie, 21, and her 34-year-old singer beau, Maisie’s mum Julia has given her blessing as she shared a series of videos of her helping the actress pack up her belongings in the family home in Essex, ready to move them to Manchester. In a recent interview, Maisie confirmed, “I don’t notice the age difference and neither do my friends or family. My mum is the one who reads through all the comments. I got a message from her yesterday saying, ‘Just ignore them, you two were made for each other.’ I think that puts it into perspective. I really don’t care what a random person thinks of my relationship when everyone I do care about is incredibly supportive. I’ve been in the business long enough to know you have to have a thick skin.”
The pair, who met on Strictly Come Dancing in 2020, now regularly show off their relationship on social media after initially keeping it a secret, with Max even sharing the moment he asked the Eastenders star to move in by hiding a key with Maisie’s name on it in a bucket of popcorn while they were at the cinema. Who said romance was dead?
And Maisie has been busy doing up Max’s bachelor pad since then, which seems to just consist of adding pink as far as we can tell, ready for her official move in last week.
Speaking about the excitement that she feels about taking the next step with Max, Maisie revealed she thinks the All Time Low singer is The One and admitted, “We have so many plans and I see so much of my future with him, stuff I didn’t even know I was capable of seeing. It still feels like the honeymoon stage. I don’t know at what point that ends, but we’re still there.” n
‘They are made for each other’