This Morning favourite Ashley James has had a love life that has frequently made headlines, including a fling with a huge American superstar. The talented DJ, presenter and social commentator first shot to fame through her early career in reality TV, including a stint on Made in Chelsea. Since then, she has remained booked and busy, becoming a firm favourite on ITV's This Morning as one of its commentators. Not afraid to speak her mind about the issues that matter to her, Ashley has also amassed a loyal legion of fans. Over the years, her romances have often made the headlines, including a fling with a huge American rapper. So, here is everything we know about Ashley James' love life.
Ashley James on 'kissing girls'
Earlier this year, Ashley discussed dating women while on the By The Way podcast with TV and radio presenter Harriet Rose. 'I think when I first started questioning my sexuality, it was the Bebo days. I actually remember being much younger, but when I Googled when Bebo came out, it said 18, but I'm sure I remember being around like, 14/15,' Ashley said to host Harriet. Talking about kissing girls while on nights out, Ashley added: 'I remember we'd all be going out in Newcastle – very underage but such is life – and I'd kiss a girl in the club. Then the next day it would be like, 'oh, my god, that was so embarrassing', and I was like, 'yeah, so embarrassing,' but in my head I was like, 'that wasn't embarrassing for me.' The guys would pay attention, then the girl would almost reject it as just this thing we did to get attention from men.'
Ashley's famous ex
Meanwhile, in 2018, Ashley appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and struck up a romance with housemate and American singer Ginuwine. Opening up about her romance with the Pony hitmaker, Ashley told the Mirror after leaving the show: 'I know viewers become a bit cynical about showmances and think it's just for attention, so I was so adamant I wouldn't be with anyone, but it's so hard to run away from your heart in that house, and I do wear my heart on my sleeve.' She added, 'I think I had hoped coming out that it would be something, and I think I was quite open about that, but now I don't speak to him, and I just think I'd rather be single and happy than be with someone I couldn't trust. I don't have harsh feelings for him, but I just realised that it wasn't going to work and that we were different people in our expectations for each other. There were a few reasons that I realised I wouldn't be able to trust him, and I didn't want to sacrifice my own happiness and feelings of self-worth.'
Ashley found love with future Tommy
In 2019, Ashley started dating City worker Tommy Andrews after meeting ten years earlier at work. The pair matched on Hinge just before the global pandemic struck in 2020. 'We had been together for about six months when Boris [Johnson] announced the first national lockdown, and I actually sent him home because I was like, 'Oh my God, we don't know how long this is going to go on for',' she said on the No Parental Guidance podcast. Ashley added: 'So I sent him back home, and then I could just tell he was really gutted,' before saying she couldn't imagine sharing her 'little pink and leopard flat' with her now partner. A few months after going official, Ashley got pregnant with their first child, Alfie, who was born January 2021. Sharing her shock about the turn her life took after getting pregnant, Ashley told Hello in 2020: 'I've never been that maternal. When friends have been like: 'I want to meet someone, settle down and have children,' I never felt the same. I guess I've been a free spirit.' Ashley and Tommy then welcomed their second child, daughter Ada, in March 2023.
Ashley on why she doesn't want to get married
Although Ashley and Tommy have gone from strength to strength in recent years, it turns out Ashley has no plans to marry her beau. In 2021, she told OK! that weddings were a 'waste of money' and insisted the whole process is 'old-fashioned'. Meanwhile, talking to iNews this year, Ashley again explained her stance on marriage. She said, 'For me, choosing not to marry now feels significant. Not because it magically changes relationship dynamics, but because it represents freedom from a system women were once unable to opt out of – and often unable to leave.' This Morning airs Monday to Friday from 10am on ITV1.
