The Odd Couple(s)

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The upset surrounding Celebrity Big Brother would appear at this stage to have led former England international (now West Ham) footballer Teddy Sheringham to dump his page three model and short-lived beauty queen girlfriend Danielle Lloyd. Many think that he has done so because he doesn’t want to be associated with the claims of racism some have levelled against Danielle, especially considering the ethnic diversity of West Ham’s supporters. 

If all the rumours about Teddy dumping Danielle are true, it leads us to wonder about the depth of their relationship in the first place. The couple have been together for at least a year - Danielle was stripped of the Miss Great Britain title she won in February 2006 after it was revealed she was dating one of the judges: Teddy Sheringham. Danielle has always insisted that the pair got together after the pageant, not before it. Either way, a year is a pretty long time and long enough, you would think, for one to realise if their partner has racist tendencies. This can only lead us to assume that either a)Teddy was totally unaware Danielle could behave like this because they had a shallow relationship in which morals, ethics and beliefs were never brought to the surface b)Teddy himself shares Danielle’s opinions and supports her actions but does not have the courage of his convictions to speak out or c) that Danielle was naïve and misrepresented in the CBB house and Teddy knows the “real” Danielle but values his career more than her and does not want to put his neck on the line by sticking up for her. 

It is all too easy to assume that the relationship perhaps lacked depth, due in part to the age difference between the two – Danielle is 23 and Teddy 40 - and the levels of success both have achieved in their respective careers. And, let’s face it; Danielle is out of Teddy’s league in the looks department. It is also therefore very easy to conclude that Danielle, who has made her thirst for fame no secret, was with Teddy for his money and the increased exposure his name would bring her and that he was happy to have a “trophy girlfriend” on his arm. You only have to look at other WAGS to see that, in many cases, the female outweighs their partner in terms of good looks but that the male half of the outfit brings the money and fame to the table.

Whatever their motivations for being together, Danielle and Teddy are certainly not the only “odd” couple in the public eye. A classic example of a celebrity couple who fit this description perfectly and who only came to light this year is Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik and one half of The Cheeky Girls Gabriela Irimia. The Lib Dem MP is known for his slightly un-cool (some might say geeky) tendencies - he enjoys playing the harmonica and has warned about an asteroid colliding with earth more than once – but it is not the first time he has dated a good looking lady. He got together with Gabriela soon after splitting with his fiancée, weathergirl Sian Lloyd.

Lembit attests that “Our relationship is not based on lust; it's primarily a relationship of intellect, a meeting of minds, and I find that really interesting and attractive." Gabriela and her identical twin sister Monika shot to fame as novelty act The Cheeky Girls when they were rejected on reality TV show Popstars: The Rivals. Their first song was “Touch My Bum”, hardly a stunning piece of insightful lyric-writing demonstrating the intellect that Lembit is so in love with. But there is nothing to say that their relationship is not authentic. After all, they are both equally as well known in their very different areas of work and it is doubtful that one is looking to move into their chosen partner’s career path! Lembit as a Cheeky Boy or Gabriela as an MP? Hard to imagine… On top of this, The Cheeky Girls are probably a lot more intelligent than they are perceived; the fact that English is their second language may mean they come across as less articulate than they actually are. And the fact that they are bilingual surely shows they are no dummies! Gabriela has said of Lembit that "I found him really interesting, smart, delicate and funny - he tells jokes all the time. He's a gentleman and is very protective." Like Danielle and Teddy, the female counterpart is significantly younger than the male; Lembit is 41 and Gabriela 24. A mid-life crisis on Lembit’s part perhaps? Who knows but we wish them all the best and only time will tell if their relationship will stand the test of time, or even just last until Valentine’s Day.

A celebrity odd couple who really went to town with a big old age gap was Anna Nicole Smith and Howard J Marshall. The wealthy American oil tycoon wed pneumatic blonde playmate Anna Nicole Smith when she was a topless 26 year old dancer at the strip joint the 89 year old wheelchair-bound billionaire frequented. Really, there’s not any more that needs to be said about that particular relationship. Other than that they probably both knew what they were getting into and what the other was in it for. Howard for the young attractive woman by his side and one last hedonistic two fingers-up at mortality (he died 14 months after they wed) and Anna for his vast fortune, allegedly. What else he could possibly have to offer her in his current state was hard to see. Although the ensuing messy court battles between Marshall’s family and Anna suggest that she may not have got everything she surely wanted with as much ease as she might have anticipated.

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