Davina McCall's rocky love life from Eric Clapton to 'wrong' first marriage

31 January 2024 , 10:21

902     0

Davina McCall's rocky love life from Eric Clapton to 'wrong' first marriage

Davina McCall is a television icon adored by millions, but when it comes to her love life, she has had to endure many ups and downs.

The 56-year-old national treasure will today be honoured with her MBE award from the King's Birthday Honours 2023, with an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace. The TV legend will be joined by photographer Nick Knight and fashion designer Roksanda Ilinci.

She's had a standout career since shooting to stardom with MTV Europe and went on to become the face of Big Brother on Channel 4. Nowadays, Davina often appears on Comic Relief and hosts the likes of Long Lost Family and a string of documentaries on meaningful topics such as the menopause.

Away from the cameras though, the mum-of-three has navigated times of devastation in her personal life, including her "traumatic" divorce from ex-husband Matthew Robertson. The couple, who tied the knot in 2000, announced they had split in 2017, shortly after Davina's 50th birthday.

Davina McCall has been married twice (Mirrorpix)

But the presenter has come out the other side and has been loved up with her celebrity hairdresser for the past few years. Davina's turbulent love life began in her early 20s, when she started dating a huge rock star.

Masked Singer's Fawn 'exposed' as girlband star but fans divided

Then aged just 25, Davina struck up a strong connection to rock and blues legend Eric Clapton, who was 23 years older than her. After experimenting with cocaine and heroin, she decided to beat her demons with the help of the Wonderful Tonight hitmaker, who supported her as she attended meetings at Narcotics Anonymous.

Davina dated Eric Clapton during her 20s (WireImage)

After her first marriage ended in divorce, she started dating Matthew

"I was a mess. You name it, I took it. Cocaine, ecstasy and heroin," she told The Mirror. Her time spent with the rock icon helped her to land a life-changing role at MTV in 1992, but the couple soon parted ways.

Davina moved on quickly, and began dating shop owner Andrew Leggett, and after a whirlwind six-month romance, they got married in 1997. However, her rarely spoken about first marriage was not a happy union, and they divorced after just two years. At the time, Davina and Andrew were pictured arguing outside her old flat in West London, and she briefly touched upon their union in an interview in 2006. "I fell madly in love, but it was wrong, so I got out quick," she told The Mirror. "I won't talk about it because he's not a celebrity and it's not fair on him."

Davina McCall has been married twice (Mirrorpix)

Davina announced they had split just weeks after her 50th birthday

While working on MTV in her first big TV gig, Davina had a brief fling with footballer Stan Collymore, who had moved from Liverpool to Aston Villa in 1998. He wrote about their relationship in his autobiography Tackling My Demons, and said Davina was "the one that got away", as he would have married her if it wasn't for another woman 'messing' with his head. They sparked rumours of a reconciliation when he was spotted at her villa in the south of France, but Davina shot down the reports, and insisted Stan was just a close friend.

The presenter then began dating Pet Rescue co-host Matthew Robertson, and the couple tied the knot in 2000 at Eastnor Castle in Hertfordshire. They welcomed three children - daughters Holly and Tilly, and son Chester - and even renewed their wedding vows on their 15th anniversary. Despite their determination to make their marriage work, they eventually parted ways, and Davina announced they had split shortly after her 50th birthday in 2017. “I am very sad to say Matthew and I have separated. Our amazing children are our number one priority,” she shared in a statement.

Discussing the divorce in 2020, Davina admitted it took time - and years - for them to work things out following their split. "Going through a divorce is a traumatic experience and it is something that needs to be navigated as carefully as possible," she told the Mail on Sunday’s You magazine, adding that their divorce "involved absolute emotional turmoil".

Davina and Michael went public with their romance in 2019

They also starred on Celebrity Gogglebox together

Now, Davina has found love with her hairdresser Michael Douglas, after being friends with the stylist to the stars for more than 20 years. The couple, who went public with their romance in 2019, barely talk about their relationship as they made a joint decision to keep their love life private. "We've got an agreement that I don't talk about our relationship, because our exes and kids don't have a right to reply, so it's not fair," she explained.

The couple have since launched a podcast, Making The Cut, and Davina said it was like listening to two old friends chatting about life. "I love doing the podcast with him. It's basically an extension of what we've always done as friends, which is to recommend things to each other," she revealed.

Emma Wilson