Capital FM presenter and I'm A Celebrity: Unpacked host Kemi Rodgers has exclusively revealed that her relationship with producer Thomas Hannett had been flourishing in private for nearly a year before she officially introduced him to the world.
The Secret Relationship
The 30-year-old television personality publicly confirmed her romance with Hannett, a producer at Capital FM, in September 2025 when she shared photographs from their romantic Parisian getaway on social media. However, Rodgers has now disclosed that their relationship timeline stretches back much further than fans initially believed.
Speaking to The Mirror from Australia, where she's currently hosting the I'm A Celebrity spin-off show Unpacked alongside Joel Dommett, Rodgers explained that this isn't the first time the couple has navigated a temporary long-distance arrangement. "We're gonna have a little bit of a holiday at the end of the show, which I'm so excited to see him," she shared. "But the thing is, is we were actually together last year when I did the show."
Navigating Long-Distance Love
Rodgers, who is best known for her work on Capital and as a regular panellist on Big Brother: Late & Live, put their situation into perspective. "Yeah it's long distance, but it's only long distance for like a month," she said. "There's people who have partners who will go for months at a time for work or live in different parts of the country. So like my heart goes out to them, so I can't say that I've suffered at all."
The couple has maintained their connection through regular communication while separated by Rodgers' work commitments in Australia. "So yeah, lots of FaceTimes, lots of messages, um, and then, yeah, very excited to be reunited with him and our little cutie," she added affectionately.
Missing British Christmas Traditions
While Rodgers is managing the separation from her partner, she admitted to feeling the absence of traditional British Christmas festivities while filming in Australia. "I miss the Christmas spirit," she confessed. "I actually, literally 20 minutes before I got picked up to fly out here, I stuffed a mince pie in my gob and I ate it so quickly because even though there's Christmas over here, there's no Christmas spirit."
Rodgers elaborated on what she particularly misses about the UK's festive season. "I'm not hearing any Christmas music, everything's like sunny. I'm not seeing any Christmas trees. I think one thing the Brits do so well, and of course like colder nations would, is that run up to Christmas, like being in the pub with your mates with like a red wine, like mulled wine, going to a Christmas market."
The radio host described the Australian Christmas experience as having a "different vibe" and expressed her determination to find mince pies locally, though she acknowledged the challenge. When she returns to Britain just days before Christmas, Rodgers anticipates being "plunged into darkness, plunged into cold, see Christmas lights everywhere."
The Parisian Hard Launch
Rodgers' relationship became public knowledge in September when she posted a charming video to her Instagram account showing the couple enjoying drinks at a Parisian restaurant. The clip featured the popular TikTok audio asking "Are you happy to be in Paris?" with Hannett lip-syncing before Rodgers responded with "Oui."
In her caption, the presenter humorously acknowledged the significance of the moment, writing: "Wine drunk in paris and thought the best way to hard launch my boyfriend on the grid was with the iconic nicki minaj 'oui' video loooooool." She added: "Full bottle of sancerre in the sun truly is the key to my heart."
The announcement was met with enthusiastic responses from friends and fans alike. Fellow presenter Sonny Jay commented "Très bien," while another pal noted it was "The hard launch we've all been waiting for." One fan cleverly observed: "City of Love? I see what you did there."
I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! continues to air daily at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX, followed by Unpacked on ITV2 featuring Kemi Rodgers and Joel Dommett.
