Denise Van Outen believes the heartache she experienced with Eddie Boxshall was "worth it".
Denise Van Outen is happier than ever
The 48-year-old presenter was horrified to discover her fiance had sent dozens of raunchy messages to other women and despite her devastation at ending their seven-year relationship, she's now in a better place than ever because she's grown closer to her friends and has found love again with former dancer Jimmy Barba.
She told Fabulous magazine: “Obviously those things weren’t nice to go through, but where I’m at now with Jimmy [Barba], who has such a good energy, everything was worth it.
"Honestly, I feel like I’m in a nice, happy, good place. I wouldn’t change anything.
“And there were so many positives that came out of it.
“I reconnected with a lot of close friends.
"They reached out to me, which is lovely. You get caught up in life when you’re in a relationship and especially when you’re blending families and you’ve got the kids to consider. So you don’t always make time for your friends.
“Everything that happened took all my friendships to another level."
Denise - who has 12-year-old daughter Betsy with ex-husband Lee Mead - also sought therapy in the wake of the split, which she admitted has been very helpful.
She added: “I’ve got myself into therapy, too, which was really good. It’s made me realise I’m very much a people-pleaser. I don’t like confrontation or arguments, but that makes me vulnerable as a person. So now I’m learning to have boundaries.”
The 'Celebrity Gogglebox' star met Jimmy, 55, through All Saints singer Shaznay Lewis and they took their relationship slowly before going public in June.
She explained: “We were taking our time and we never went out because we didn’t want to get spotted. I wanted to wait until the relationship was solid.
"We would spend hours and hours just sitting talking in the kitchen. We’ve really taken the time to get to know each other.”
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