Entertainment
Louise Redknapp slams romance rumours with business partner Tom: ‘His girlfriend is a dear friend’
Louise Redknapp has hit back at claims she is dating her business partner Tom Van Wesseldine, describing him as a ‘dear friend’.
The former Strictly Come Dancing star, who split from ex-husband Jamie Redknapp in 2018, was romantically linked to the entrepreneur after commenting on his social media posts.
It’s also believed that Louise, 46, and Tom, 30, have gone into business together after setting up a music company.
According to The Sun, the pair met years ago through mutual friends and have enjoyed nights out together since.
However, Louise has slammed any suggestion that they are romantically involved as Tom has a serious girlfriend.
In her Instagram stories, the mother-of-two wrote: ‘I hate having to do this especially late on a Saturday night but sometimes I need to protect the people around me.
‘Tommy and his girlfriend Emily are both very dear friends of mine and have been great friends over the last couple of years along with their dog diddy.’
A rep for Louise also told the Mail Online: ‘This is total rubbish.
‘Tom has a long term girlfriend and Louise is friends with both Tom and his girlfriend.
‘Louise and Tom are also business partners. A heart posted on an Instagram page is not a flirty message.’
It’s said that Louise contributed to Tom’s charity school meals campaign last October and gifted him a Chelsea shirt signed by Frank Lampard, who happens to be a cousin of her ex-husband Jamie.
Louise has opened up about her devastating split from Jamie in her new autobiography You’ve Got This: And Other Things I Wish I Had Known, released last week.
The former spouses share two sons, Charley, 16, and Beau, 12, and Louise admits she struggled with the judgement she faced for going on a night out with friends after the divorce rather than staying at home with the kids.
Louise writes: ‘When I split up with Jamie, the accusations came in thick and fast. I was so heavily judged, and it amazed me that so many people, including other women, made assumptions about what I was or wasn’t doing when it came to my kids.
‘I noticed real double standards: women are simply expected to be with their kids, whereas if fathers spend any time with their children, then suddenly they are ‘Super Dad’ or Dad of the Year.
‘They are described as “babysitting” rather than simply spending time with their own children. As soon as fathers play an active role, they are seen as heroes. Why is it that men are praised for the very things women do every day?’
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