The big row that's rocking Alesha Dixon's relationship with her man of 12 years – just months after they reunited
LOVE AND WAR The big row that's rocking Alesha Dixon's relationship with her man of 12 years – just months after they reunited
ALESHA Dixon reconciled with her partner of 12-years Azuka Ononye back in April after a 'really rocky patch' left their relationship on the brink.
But insiders claim the Britain's Got Talent judge's romance has hit another rough patch - and it all boils down to one big question.
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A 'really rocky patch' left Alesha Dixon and Azuka Ononye's relationship on the brink
Credit: Getty
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The couple, who have two children, reconciled back in April
Credit: Getty
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But insiders claim the Britain's Got Talent judge's romance has hit another rough patch
Credit: Handout
Those close to Azuka say the choreographer, who has two daughters with Alesha, is struggling to come to terms with Alesha's refusal to marry him - despite him asking multiple times.
In recent weeks, pals tell me, the issue has become a recurring argument between them - with Azuka unable to convince Alesha that marriage is the way forward for them.
Alesha, 46, was previously married to rapper MC Harvey but their year-long union ended in heartbreak after his affair with singer Javine Hilton.
A friend said: 'Azuka wants Alesha to be his wife and thinks marriage is the way forward for them after everything that has happened over the past six months.
'He has proposed but to no avail.
'It's becoming an argument that keeps coming up between them and Azuka is finding it hard to move past it.
'He is a proud man and wants Alesha to be his wife. His parents have said the same and think marriage is the way forward. They've applied some pressure too, which has led to rows between Alesha and Azuka.
'It's been a difficult six months but this feels like another bump in the road they can't get past.'
Over a decade ago, Alesha revealed that Azuka had proposed to her multiple times but joked he wasn't serious.
Speaking about their relationship on Piers Morgan's Life Stories programme, she said: 'He's asked me about five times but I won't take him seriously.
Alesha Dixon SPLITS from father of her two kids after 12 years - but reveals why they're still living together
'He asks me when he's jokey and I won't take him seriously until he does it properly.'
Those close to Azuka say he has since proposed properly but that Alesha has stonewalled his attempts.
'Azuka says he can't work out why Alesha won't marry him,' the friend said.
'He thinks this could be the making of them and something that would help them properly move past everything that has happened.
'It's become a bit of a stalemate again. He's leaning on his friends for support but it's difficult for him.'
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Azuka and Alesha at Ant McPartlin's wedding but the former Mis-Teeq singer seems to be stalling on a marriage to her beau
Credit: Splash
Alesha previously called Azuka her 'best friend' and said she had found the love of her life in the dancer.
But then in November last year, those close to Alesha said she had confided in them that their relationship had run its course.
STAR'S BREAK-UP
This March Alesha confirmed the pair had split but said they were living together for the sake of their children.
A month later, those close to the couple confirmed they were giving their romance another try.
A close source said: 'They went through a really rocky patch and decided to call it a day. It had been difficult for a long time and Alesha just couldn't see a way forward.
'AZ even moved out to a hotel for a while, despite the fact they were co-parenting.
'But there is still a huge amount of feeling between them. They've been together for 12 years and have two beautiful children.
'So they have decided to give it one last try.
"They both desperately want to be a family again and are going to do all it takes to make it work.'
WEDDING CONFLICT
At the time, those close to Alesha admitted they 'weren't convinced' their relationship would last.
And now Azuka's friends say they feel the same - with the talk of weddings driving a wedge between them.
One added: 'Without a wedding on the horizon, Azuka doesn't know what to do.
'He wants Alesha to be his wife but she isn't budging.
'It's another hurdle they've come up against and it seems there isn't a way they can move past it.'
Who is Alesha Dixon's partner Azuka Ononye?
Azuka Ononye was born December 14, 1980 and is best known for his work as a dancer, creator director and choreographer.
He has worked with the likes of Sade, Whitney Houston, Madonna, Duffy, Pixie Lott, Estelle, Ashanti and Cheryl to name a few.
Azuka's advertising credits include major brands such as Guinness, Captain Morgan, Nokia, T-Mobile, Specsavers, Superdrug, ESPN, Sky, DFS and Argos and many more.
Azula first met Alesha Dixon on tour in 2006, but they waited a while before becoming a couple.
They have two children together.
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Azuka 'is struggling to come to terms with Alesha's refusal to marry him'
Credit: PA
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Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
The Kinks' Sir Ray Davies on alternative name for band and why he loves taunting US fans
Scroll to read more on The Kinks' Stateside story THINK KINK The Kinks' Sir Ray Davies on alternative name for band and why he loves taunting US fans Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SIR Raymond Douglas Davies and the United States Of America – let's just say it's a complicated relationship. Their paths first crossed in 1964 when the British Invasion was in full swing. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 5 Sir Raymond Douglas Davies of The Kinks opens up as the band front another release Credit: Getty 5 The band on TV in 1968 Credit: Getty The Beatles lit the blue touch paper and The Kinks, led by Ray and his brother Dave, were key players in the explosion of sound that followed. Their heavy riff-driven hits You Really Got Me and All Day And All Of The Night rocketed into the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. A year later, however, the wheels fell off in spectacular fashion — and they had to make a hasty 'British Retreat'. Following a turbulent US tour in the summer of '65, The Kinks were banned from performing there for four years. Though no official reason was given by the American Federation of Musicians, there were reports of rowdy behaviour on and off stage, a physical altercation with a 'British-baiting' TV producer and an unpaid fee. Sixty years on, I've been given the chance to ask Sir Ray, 81, about The Kinks' Stateside story. He has curated the third and final part of the band's archive series, The Journey, which focuses on the late Seventies and early Eighties, when they finally cracked America. For context, Davies begins by reflecting on the impact of seismic events more than a decade earlier. He says: 'I was talking to (drummer) Mick Avory the other day and we concluded that the ban in America was a result of bad management, bad luck and bad behaviour — but we were only young. 'We had dreamt of America for so long' 'Nevertheless, the four-year ban was a bit excessive. Looking back though, it allowed me the space to write songs about England and forget about breaking America. Oasis kick off first Manchester homecoming gig after 16 years away 'However, it was irksome having to watch all our peers tour the States while we were left behind.' By saying 'peers', Davies is of course referring to groups such as The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and The Who. Did The Kinks feel bruised by missing out on the wild success enjoyed by the others? 'Of course we did,' he replies. 'We were young and looking forward to touring the country that had inspired our music and to experiencing Americana first hand. 'We had dreamt of America for so long through this vision of the movies of our childhood.' Davies adds that 'on returning back to England, the band was in financial difficulties and on the verge of breaking up — and that took a further toll on all four of us.' As we know, he picked himself up and emerged as one of our most gifted, perceptive and literate songwriters. There was something quintessentially English about his Dedicated Follower Of Fashion and his lovers Terry and Julie, who 'as long as they gaze on Waterloo Sunset, they are in paradise'. Just consider The Village Green Preservation Society with lines like 'God save strawberry jam and all the different varieties'. In a previous interview, I remember Davies telling me that his song A Well Respected Man was about a neighbour who went to work in a bowler hat. He said: 'While we were banned, it was our biggest hit in America and I sang it in a London accent. 'It was Dick Van Dyke London. Americans still think of us as being a bit Mary Poppins.' A British Invasion contemporary, The Who's Pete Townshend, has said Davies 'invented a new kind of poetry' and that he should have been our Poet Laureate. By 1970, The Kinks' ban had been lifted and American success beckoned once more. They returned to the US top ten with Lola, a memorable Ray Davies composition set in a Soho bar and noted for its singalong chorus and daring lyrics about the gender-fluid title character. 'Before the ban, we played venues like the Hollywood Bowl,' he tells me. 'When we eventually returned, we were booked into small clubs and college venues. 'It was like starting all over again but it felt like an opportunity to get back what had been taken away from us.' 5 Ray in the studio Credit: ALEX LAKE alexlake@ By the mid-Seventies, The Kinks were delivering a leaner, more hard-rocking sound to their American audiences. It comes with this explanation from Davies: 'We were often playing as a support act and soundchecks were not always possible. 'So our sound became stripped down, which in a strange way made it more direct and in your face. 'Punk brought London alive, energy returned' 'I started reproducing this sound in the studio,' he continues before stressing, 'but you can't really say songs like All Day And All Of The Night and You Really Got Me are lightweight. 'Having said that, audiences responded well to songs like Art Lover and Well Respected Man, which are not exactly heavy metal. 'On occasions I would break into vaudevillian renditions of You Are My Sunshine and the British National Anthem just to taunt the American audiences and heavy rock aficionados as if to say, 'Yeah, we are British, take it or leave it.' The first Kinks album to adopt a more 'direct' sound was Sleepwalker (1976), their first for music mogul Clive Davis' fledgling Arista Records. It was also the first of a string of LPs that did better in the US than back in good old Blighty. Davies says: 'Clive persuaded me to stay in New York and I began work on Sleepwalker there. I eventually rented an apartment on the Upper West Side.' The title track and Sleepless Night dealt with his insomnia at the time which he likens to 'having permanent jet lag'. The band's no-nonsense approach to the music also chimed with the advent of punk and the arrival of bands like The Jam who cited The Kinks as a major influence. Davies says: 'I feel it (punk) brought London alive and energy returned to the city — we were back on the map of music and fashion. 'A lot of great bands came out of that period and The Kinks were like contemporaries.' Although Davies started work on Sleepwalker in The Big Apple, it was recorded in London at his newly founded Konk Studios. He remembers the early days of Konk and the freedom it afforded. 'We acquired a Neve (mixing) desk and started adapting what was an old factory in North London. 'It was rough and ready but the sound was to our liking and we had a certain amount of control over the budget. This made a huge impact on our recordings. Before Konk, we recorded at other studios and they were strictly on the meter but now we could run into overtime.' Following Sleepwalker came Misfits in 1978 — well received, particularly in the States, but representing another difficult period for The Kinks. Davies says: 'After the success of the Sleepwalker album, the band was in disarray and two members left. 'But myself, Dave and Mick remained committed and we brought in two new members, Jim Rodford and Ian Gibbons.' Did the band see themselves as misfits? I venture. 'As it turned out, Misfits would have been a good name instead of The Kinks,' muses Davies. 'In some ways we have always been more like outsiders — not fitting in with any style or movement.' One of the Misfits songs, A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy emphatically proved that Davies hadn't lost his way with neat turns of phrase. 'I was absorbed into American culture' He says 'It is quite an autobiographical song. 'The king is dead' was a deliberate reference to Elvis (who died on August 16, 1977). 'I wrote it from the apartment on the 11th floor in NYC and the last verse was a direct reference to a man I saw listening to music in the building opposite. 'The first verse is about a friend of mine . . . 'You've been sleeping in a field but you look real rested/You set out to outrage but you can't get arrested/You say your image is new but it looks well tested/You're lost without a crowd, and yet you go your own way.'' Next, I ask Davies how living in NYC impacted on his songwriting in general. 'It was like learning another language,' he replies. 'I was being absorbed into American culture, particularly with the Low Budget album (1979) and songs like Catch Me Now I'm Falling and Attitude. But one thing that remained was my London accent as opposed to trying to sound American.' On Catch Me Now I'm Falling, Davies deftly captured the uncertain mood in America during the late Seventies. 5 The band on the roof of London's Dorchester hotel in 1976 Credit: Redferns 'There must have been a knock-on effect from all the economic difficulties in the world,' he says. 'After the Second World War, America saved the world, but who will save America?' Low Budget also featured (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman, released in the wake of Christopher Reeve donning the iconic blue and red outfit with yellow accents. 'Superman was a comic book hero of mine and, at the time, we had strikes all over Britain,' says Davies. 'But the song itself is about a man waking to all this bad news and he fantasises about flying away like Superman.' After Low Budget came 1981's Give The People What They Want, including the rocking Destroyer which was like a blast from the past. It featured the riff from All Day And All Of The Night and lyrics referencing Lola. Davies says: 'It had been my idea for a long time, but had been on the back burner. 'I counted the song in, shouted out the chords through the headphones and it was recorded almost in one take.' The album ended with the jangly, bittersweet Better Things, written by Davies about his failing marriage to second wife Yvonne. 'It's basically a break-up song about wishing the other person to have a better life,' he affirms. This brings us to the best-loved of all The Kinks' later songs, Come Dancing, from the 1983 album State Of Confusion. It served as a heartfelt tribute to Davies' tragic sister Rene who loved to dance to big bands on a Saturday night. He tells the story behind the song: 'My first Spanish guitar was a gift from Rene. 'She died of a heart condition at the age of 31 on the day before my 13th birthday, while she was out dancing at the Lyceum Ballroom. 'My musical Come Dancing is based on family life and the events leading up to Rene's passing. Also around that time, I would buy records with my pocket money from Les Aldrich record shop in Muswell Hill which has now sadly closed down. 'These records and memories had an impact on my writing the musical.' If the first disc of The Journey Pt 3 sheds new light on a fascinating and fruitful period for The Kinks, the second is a treasure trove of a different kind. It is a newly discovered, pristine recording of the band's Royal Albert Hall concert on July 11, 1993. This was at the dawn of Britpop and the old masters showed the young pretenders how it should be done. The show drew on all parts of The Kinks' momentous 'journey' and included standout renditions of You Really Got Me, Sunny Afternoon and Dedicated Follower Of Fashion. Last song Days finds Davies addressing the rapturous crowd, 'Thank you for the days/Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me.' He says: 'The concert was part of a tour celebrating our 30th anniversary. It was more like a welcome home from America and it was well received. 'Our fans showed us great affection and enthusiasm which was a highlight of the tour. 'Recently, when we were updating archives in Konk Studio, we came across the recording of that show, the last that the band performed at the Albert Hall.' Finally, I ask Davies about the whole experience of putting together The Journey Parts 1, 2 and 3. 'I would have said let the lyrics do the talking before embarking on this project,' he answers. 'But, in some ways, these recollections have given the songs more depth.' All I can add is, 'Thank you for the Ray.' THE KINKS The Journey Part 3 ★★★★☆
Scottish Sun
5 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Kasper Schmeichel opens up on his Celtic future as he responds to questions on retirement
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) KASPER SCHMEICHEL insists that as long as he's diving, he's thriving. The Dane reckons he'll have all the time in the world to rest up and take it easy when he hangs up his gloves and retires. Sign up for the Celtic newsletter Sign up 4 Kasper Schmeichel in action against Sporting Lisbon Credit: Getty 4 He won two trophies with the Hoops last season Credit: Kenny Ramsay At 38, plenty think that's coming sooner rather than later. But Celtic No 1 Schmeichel insists he's got the same hunger and desire as ever, and blew off any suggestion he's got nothing else to achieve in the game. He said: 'That's not my mindset — I haven't done everything. There's a LOT still to accomplish. 'In all honesty, I never think differently to that. I've never been the type of guy to think in restrictions or limitations. 'At the moment, I'm just loving playing football. 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'It's driven by the manager and people like Callum McGregor and James Forrest, who have been here for a long time. I'm more the type of guy that I'm available if anybody wants to ask questions — but I'll always try and lead by example. 'If you see me in training, if it's a game of head-tennis or whatever, I want to win with everything. If you saw our training, you'd see that. 'The stuff behind closed doors, it's intense and it's all about winning. If you don't win, it's a bad day.' After some extra time off following his end-of-season efforts with his national team, Schmeichel joined up with the squad in Lisbon and started against Sporting on Wednesday. In an ideal world, he'd have had a longer rest. But you won't hear him complaining. He said: 'It's part of the game. It is what modern international football is now. I want to play games and I love playing them. 4 'You're a long-time retired. I wish we'd have gone to the Club World Cup too, just to have that experience as well. 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Scottish Sun
6 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Danny Cipriani reveals he's back together with ex six months after sad split – telling her ‘I love you – you are magic'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) DANNY Cipriani has confirmed he is back together with actress AnnaLynne McCord, six months after their sad split. Former rugby ace Danny, 37, posted a gushing birthday message to his ex on Threads, referring to her as 'My Love'. 4 Danny Cipriani has confirmed he is back together with actress AnnaLynne McCord Credit: Getty And it comes just weeks after they were spotted cuddling up on holiday, sparking further rumours of a reunion. He wrote in the post: "Happy birthday My Love. You are pure magic, with the biggest heart, and wisdom beyond your years. "Thank you for choosing love and seeing the light in everyone you meet - Love you." Alongside the warm words, he uploaded a cosy image where they're seen embracing and smiling. The former couple first went public with their relationship in 2023. AnnaLynne and Danny became an item last April, just months after he split from wife Victoria Rose, 44. He launched their relationship by saying: "My miracle… loving you is the easiest thing in the world." The pair bonded over their passion for spirituality and were pictured on holiday in Egypt and on the beach in LA. However, in January the pair were reported to have split with a source saying: "Their romance was very turbulent, Danny is going through a very difficult divorce and wasn't able to give AnnaLynne everything she needed." Danny then confirmed their break-up at a screening of Celebrity Bear Hunt. Danny Cipriani calls new girlfriend 'a miracle' as they share loved up video montage of them snogging in back of a taxi He said of AnnaLynne: "We're not together right now, but she really enjoyed [watching] it. "We were just talking about it and she really enjoyed it. She was so positive. "There was one time I phoned her during it and I was thinking about how I'm going to get out of here. "She was like, 'Look, I'm down, I'm going.' She was awesome." Danny and AnnaLynne's reunion came two weeks after a legal showdown between the Celebrity Bear Hunt star and his soon-to-be ex-wife Victoria. They were recently in court to finalise details of their split. A source said: 'It was pretty tense. The divorce is far from done.' Danny Cipriani's high profile relationship history Monica Irimia (2007) - Danny began dating Cheeky Girl star Monica in 2007. However their relationship was short lived, as it was claimed that he cheated on the singer with glamour model Larissa Summers. Kelly Brook (2008 to 2010) - Kelly was one of Danny's longest and most high-profile relationships. The model and actress reportedly broke up with Danny when she caught him giving his phone number to a Las Vegas stripper. Lindsay Lohan (2010) - Danny started dating former Disney star and Freaky Friday actress Lindsay Lohan in 2010. However, their relationship was very short-lived and they split after just a few dates. Katie Price (2011) - Danny's relationship with Katie began in 2011 and ended that same year in a bitter feud. Lara Bingle (2011) - Danny started dating Australian model Lara Bingle after his split with Katie Price. Lara told Who Magazine that she had 'fallen in love with Danny', just weeks before he dumped her. Jasmine Waltz (2014 to 2015) - Jasmine and Danny began to grow close in 2010, after he split with Kelly. However, their relationship started properly in 2014. They split just a year later. Kirsty Gallacher (2015 to 2016) - Sports presenter Kirsty dated Danny for six months between 2015 and 2016. However, their relationship broke down because of their '12 year age gap". Victoria Rose (2020 to 2023) - Victoria became the first woman to marry Danny when they tied the knot on April 27, 2022. The pair met in 2020 and got engaged after just a year. In November 2023, Danny confirmed that he had split up from his wife. AnnaLynne McCord (2024 to 2025) - Actress AnnaLynne McCord reportedly met Danny on Raya, months after he split from Victoria Rose. Danny described AnnaLynne as his 'miracle' after making their relationship public. However, the couple eventually went their separate ways in 2025. 4 The former rugby ace Danny posted a gushing birthday message to his ex on Threads Credit: Threads 4 It comes just weeks after they were spotted cuddling up on holiday Credit: BackGrid
