Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most infamous individuals on the planet but the Manchester United hero opted for a more laid back evening during one of his first dates with Gemma Atkinson
Manchester United ace Cristiano Ronaldo sipped tea and watched endless episodes of beloved British comedy show ‘Only Fools and Horses’ on his first date with former Hollyoaks actress Gemma Atkinson.
The unlikely couple very briefly dated in Ronaldo’s first stint with the Red Devils. Ronaldo and Atkinson were briefly together in 2007, before they drifted apart and decided to go their separate ways.
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Ronaldo was firmly establishing himself as one of the best players on the planet with his consistently brilliant performances under Sir Alex Ferguson’s dominant United side. But despite his fame and riches, Ronaldo and Atkinson opted for a more laid back evening with Rodney, Del Boy and Grandad.
“We went to my house, drank cups of tea and watched Only Fools And Horses. Genuinely,” Atkinson said when asked about her brief relationship with Ronaldo. “I don’t know if he’s into it now but he seemed to enjoy it.”
“It was really glamorous,” she summarised sarcastically. However, there were not many more Only Fools and Horses binges left, as the pair stopped seeing each other before the end of the year.
Atkinson initially met the former Real Madrid and Juventus hitman shortly after she departed her role on Hollyoaks, where she played the character of Lise Hunter.
While Ronaldo went on to depart United and join Real Madrid in a record breaking £80million move, Atkinson went on to appear on Casualty for two years between 2011 and 2012, before a countryside move to Emmerdale in 2015.
She is now happily engaged to Strictly Come Dancing professional Gorka Marquez, after growing close to the Spaniard on one of the show’s tours. However, her relationship with Marquez is not an example of the ‘Strictly Curse’ as she was paired with Aljaz Skorjanec when she reached the final in 2017.
But while 15 years have passed since her fling with Ronaldo, Atkinson has repeatedly refused to divulge into any details about their previous fling. “With Cristiano it was mad, because everywhere he went he was followed by photographers,” Atkinson added.
“When we did split up, I got offered so much money to speak about him. And I didn’t want that.”
