Revealed
DANNY DIRE
THERE was a sense of the inevitable about the news that notorious lothario Danny Cipriani has bedded unlucky-in-love Caroline Flack.
The 39-year-old Love Island host has had a rough year following a tumultuous split from fiancé Andrew Brady, who was accused of cheating and using her for fame.
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If his dating history is anything to go by, Danny seems to have a sixth sense for heartbreak and vulnerability.
His string of celebrity exes were all going through personal turmoil when they fell for the sporty bad boy.
Either Danny is a knight in shining armour or he has a knack for seducing women at their lowest ebb.
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According to his recent ex, mum-of-one Hope Stubbings, it’s the latter — and she said he exploited her vulnerability to control her.
After Danny dumped her by text message last summer, the 27-year-old mental health worker told a friend: “He’s the most controlling person I have ever met.
“If you’re like Danny and able to be with almost any woman, that becomes boring, so he finds other ways to get a kick.”
Incredibly, after he ended their relationship he told her they could still date if she was OK with him sleeping around.
Hope described her relationship with Danny as the “most unhealthy” she had ever had.
In a message to a friend, she wrote: “In my darkest hours I thought about ending it all.”
KELLY PUNCHED HIM AND DUMPED HIM
At the time, Danny blamed his behaviour on rugby head injuries which caused short-term memory loss.
But his history of hooking up with troubled women goes back to 2007 — before the height of his fame as an England player.
It was then that he met The Cheeky Girls’ Monica Irimia, who was at rock bottom and facing bankruptcy after her brief pop career ended.
The pair split after a year amid rumours he had played away with glamour model Larissa Summers.
Monica said afterwards: “He doesn’t want a steady relationship. He just wants — dot dot dot — let’s put it that way!”
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Relationship expert Pam Spurr warns: “Excitement, whirlwind dating, lots of sex and a handsome face can be powerful tools to quickly take advantage of someone with low self-esteem.”
And that seems to have been the case when Danny hooked up with model Kelly Brook.
Like Monica, Kelly was also going through a rough time when she met Danny. She had just called off her engagement to American actor Billy Zane, her career was in freefall and her beloved father had recently died.
Their two-year relationship was plagued by claims Danny had cheated on her with several women. The final straw came when he gave his number to a Las Vegas stripper.
Kelly punched Danny and dumped him on the spot. She seethed: “He’s a car crash.”
Later Danny opened up in an interview about their rocky relationship. He told how their break-up left him battling depression for nine months.
He said: “I had to see somebody to get help. It’s part of growing up, and going through that in the spotlight is tough.”
In the months that followed, Danny cosied up to troubled Lindsay Lohan. Around this time, the US actress was battling drink and drug problems and had been in court following drink driving offences.
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Their romance was short-lived and Danny said: “She’s been through a lot of bad things but she’s a really sweet girl.”
Showing no signs of slowing down, in 2011 he briefly dated Australian model Lara Bingle before hooking up with Katie Price.
The glamour model’s marriage to Alex Reid had just ended after the pair struggled to conceive.
Danny would not prove to be the one to heal her heartbreak.
In her autobiography Love, Lipstick and Lies, she revealed how she walked in on Danny in bed with another woman.
She wrote: “‘Hiya’, I said — sounding calm even though I felt anything but.
“‘Danny’, I said, sounding more together than I was feeling, ‘I want you to know that I forgive you, but I never forget’.”
In revenge, she nicknamed him Danny Chipolata in reference to his mini manhood.
Speaking about their brief relationship in 2015, Danny said: “I have no ill feeling. At the time it was frustrating.”
After Katie he moved on with Love Island star Sophie Gradon, who took her life last June.
Sophie, who suffered from anxiety and depression, had not yet shot to fame when she dated Danny.
DANNY'S TIMELINE OF LOVERS
The Cheeky Girls’ MONICA IRIMIA (2007) pictured
Model KELLY BROOK (2008 to 2010)
Actress LINDSAY LOHAN (2010)
Ausssie model LARA BINGLE (2011)
Glamour model KATIE PRICE (2011)
Love Island star SOPHIE GRADON (2013)
Reality TV’s JASMINE WALTZ (2014)
Made in Chelsea’s CAGGIE DUNLOP (2014)
Sports presenter KIRSTY GALLACHER (2015 to 2016)
Pop star NICOLE APPLETON (2016)
Mother of one HOPE STUBBINGS (2018)
NICOLE’S WORRIED PALS TOLD HER TO AVOID DANNY
Looking back at their romance, she said in 2016: “I was never sure where I stood with him.
“Things came to a head when I saw an article that he was dropping a girl off and she was pictured getting out of his car. I was heartbroken, upset and hurt.”
In 2014 Danny dated Big Brother contestant Jasmine Waltz in the wake of her acrimonious split from pop star Lee Ryan.
But after the pair broke up Jasmine told how the rugby ace treated her in a “dirty, evil and twisted way” to get her into bed.
“He loves living on the edge,” she said. “In some ways he is like a horny teenage boy.”
Later that year he was pictured snogging Made In Chelsea’s Caggie Dunlop in a London pub.
Despite his reputation as a love rat, Danny then won the heart of Sky Sports presenter Kirsty Gallacher. She had hit rock bottom after splitting from Paul Sampson, her husband of 14 years, six months before meeting Danny in 2015.
Kirsty, 43, and Danny dated for six months but broke up because of the 12-year age gap. Speaking about her split, Kirsty said: “It’s been an interesting few years.
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“I think you just get stronger and if something is not right you have to make a change.”
In 2016 Danny was snapped cosying up to All Saints singer Nicole Appleton in a London bar.
Like Kirsty, Nicole was recovering from a divorce, having split from Oasis rocker Liam Gallagher in 2014. What’s more, the Pure Shores singer was in bits over the bombshell news Liam had fathered a love child with a US reporter.
But worried pals warned Nicole to avoid the rugby rogue. A source said at the time: “They don’t think he’s exactly boyfriend material.”
MOST READ IN FABULOUS
So what’s Danny’s game? Dr Pam says: “He seems drawn to beautiful women who have complicated lives.
“He might be prone to having a ‘rescue complex’ where he hopes to save a damsel in distress.
“It might reflect that someone like Danny likes to feel ‘needed’ by a girlfriend to boost his self-worth.
“On the darker side, some men and women target potential partners who are feeling vulnerable so they can control that person.”
Pals will hope Caroline is the one to buck this trend.
But Dr Pam warns: “Danny might have the best intentions when he starts seeing someone and then just get bored quickly.
“That’s when his eyes wander. He should probably come with a player warning for future girlfriends.”
Let’s hope Caroline reads it carefully.
Danny Cipriani through the years: women, bust-ups and rugby
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