Big Brother star Zelah Glasson is engaged to his girlfriend of five years, Francesca, a year after he was forced to publicly address "cheating" claims. The 25-year-old, who appeared on the ITV show last year, shared the news on Instagram.
Proposal and tribute
In his post, Zelah shared a photo of the moment he proposed and joked about Francesca's Italian heritage, writing: "The things I'll do for an Italian passport…"
He added: "5 years ago, I went out on a rugby social dressed as a laundry basket and met someone who I instantly clicked with. At the time I thought I'd found a best friend. I wanted to be around her constantly, and I had this feeling she would be in my life forever. As time went on, the intensity of our friendship made more and more sense. Within a month of asking her out, I wrote a note in my phone saying 'I'm going to marry this girl'."
He continued: "Francesca, you have loved me as a woman; you have loved me through losing my dad; through surgery, hormones, multiple career changes and ridiculous side quests. We have travelled the world together, we have grown together and we have laughed so many times that I never need to train abs again. I would not be the man I am today if it was not for you. You are everything I needed as a kid, and everything I want in a wife."
Celebrity congratulations
Several TV stars congratulated the couple, including The Traitors winner Rachel Duffy, who said: "So beautiful, congratulations". Big Brother presenter AJ Odudu also commented her support, as did new dad Marcus John, who was on the show with Zelah and recently welcomed a baby with their castmate Elsa Rae, who also commented.
Many of last year's Big Brother housemates congratulated Zelah, including Cameron Kinch, Emily Hewertson, Tate Reynolds, Teja Dalphy and Feyisola Akintoye.
Addressing the rumours
Zelah was the sixth housemate eliminated from the series, and his exit came amid criticism surrounding alleged disloyalty to Francesca, particularly regarding what some saw as flirty behaviour with fellow contestant Sam Ashby. The allegations were such that Francesca had to post multiple videos defending their relationship on social media, stating Zelah had "not crossed any boundaries".
Zelah responded when he left the house, saying in a TikTok video that, in his relationship, having a "flirt and cuddle with my friends" did not constitute cheating. "Everyone has different boundaries and that's absolutely okay. In your relationship, that might be cheating, but it's not in mine," he said.
He added that though he knew Sam was attracted to him, he did not realise it could have been more than "flirty banter" and that there were feelings involved. He also said he felt he was clear with Sam about his relationship and felt "betrayed" when his actions were mischaracterised: "I've walked away from this experience shocked, upset and feeling quite betrayed, because I felt like in my entire friendship with Sam, I was always very, very transparent."
Zelah said he and Sam often spoke openly about disagreements, so if Sam had chosen to speak to him about how they were feeling, he wouldn't have behaved the way he did.
Fans supported Zelah in the comments, with one saying it was "so sad that this even has to be justified" while another said Zelah shouldn't have to explain himself, even though they were glad for the clarification.
