26 November 2023 , 22:50
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Nigel Farage's secret romance with a French politician has been confirmed as she flies to Australia to support him on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me… Out Of Here!
The former Brexit campaigner, 59, has been linked to French politician Laure Ferrari, 44, since 2017 but the pair have never gone public with their romance. But it is understood Ferrari is on ITV's list of 'Friends and Family' members heading to Brisbane airport this week. The guests then stay in a luxury hotel on the Gold Coast, and Laure would also be invited to meet Farage on the jungle bridge at the end of the show when he is evicted.
A source close to Farage confirmed the news and said: “Nigel and Laure have been linked for a number of years and she has been seen at his home in Chelsea, giving the impression they are living together. But there has never been any official confirmation.
Laure Ferrari has been dating Farage since 2017 (AFP via Getty Images)“Nigel has never confirmed the relationship but there was a feeling amongst his team and by Laure that now is the time to open that door. If he is to get back into mainstream politics which is his desire he may need to be more open and transparent,” they added.
It’s believed the move has been inspired by disgraced former Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who took the big step of inviting his controversial girlfriend Gina Coladangelo out to Australia after their affair while on the show last year. Gina even spoke at the airport in support of Hancock, and he went on to make the final of the series.
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Laure first met the politician in 2007 when she was 28 and working as a waitress in Strasbourg. The couple have reportedly been dating since 2017, shortly after he split from his wife of 18 years, Kirsten. Laure was pictured at Farage’s £4 million Georgian home, and at the time, the politician dismissed the rumours of a relationship as “crackers”. when she was 28.
He then appointed her as a parliamentary assistant, and she was later made PR director of Farage's parliamentary group Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy, and the same year they began dating, she headed up a Eurosceptic think tank.
Farage has consistently denied he’s in a relationship with Laure, and previously said: “She is someone I have worked with and known for a long time who wanted somewhere to stay for a week that wouldn't cost her any money. It's a working relationship. You can inflate it however you want to.”
Farage and his second wife Kirsten had been living “separate lives” at the time the split was announced, and she released a statement confirming they had been living apart fro a while. “My husband and I have lived separate lives for some years and he moved out of the family home a while ago. This is a situation that suits everyone and is not news to any of the people involved,” she said.
A spokesman for Farage declined to comment on the story.