Big Brother host AJ Odudu has dropped the shock news that she is engaged. The presenter, 37, shared a photo montage being all loved up with her fiancé, as she showed off the new sparkler on her ring finger. ‘Hiya love,’ she wrote, followed by a red heart, diamond ring and tearful face emoji.
Pals congratulated her on her news, which came as a surprise as AJ hadn’t confirmed that she is in a relationship. Fleur East said, ‘Ahhhhhh HARD LAUNCH!!!!! Congratulations to you both!!!! So so happy for you,’ while Olly Murs remarked, ‘Aww buzzing for ya AJ!! Huge congratulations. Love these pics.’
AJ – whose full name is Onatejiro Odudu – previously hinted she was in a relationship, when she shared a cryptic Instagram post while on holiday in New York in March 2024. She sparked rumours that she was with someone special when she posted a photo of her foot resting next to another person’s trainer-clad foot, with the caption, ‘It’s very this…’ with a heart emoji.
Who is AJ Odudu’s partner?
Keeping her cards close to her chest, AJ has yet to confirm the identity of her fiancé.
Who has AJ Odudu dated?
AJ hasn’t been lucky in love before. ‘All my past relationships have gone wrong. Dating apps have failed to deliver. I’ve had loads of failed relationships. Sometimes I’m just too much for them, other times they are not enough for me – and a couple of times I’ve been cheated on,’ she said.
She revealed that three of her exes have cheated on her – one of them with her best friend – which left her ‘years of trauma’, especially catching them in the act.
‘I’ve been cheated on by three ex-boyfriends... One of them was sleeping with my best friend,’ she said. She recalled, ‘To walk in on that, I was stunned. Seeing that was crazy. I wasn’t hysterical. I didn’t burst into tears or anything like that. I just felt in that moment, I need to gather all the information that I can, and I don’t want it from him.
‘So, I asked her to put her clothes back on and follow me outside and answer all of my questions, how long had this been going on and whatever. And then as soon as that happened, I watched her leave and then I packed all my stuff and got a taxi and left.’
AJ added, ‘However, I proceeded to have years of tears and years of trauma away from him. It was like this person had, you know, made out that they love me, they see their future with me and it was completely reciprocated. We were, in my mind, building towards a positive future together. He was the most nice and genuine person, fun to be around and someone I wouldn’t expect to behave in that way.’
In the past, her love life has been the subject of TV documentaries. On Manhunting With My Mum, which aired on W in 2018, the star looked for eligible partners in Nigeria, joined by her mum Florence.
Her connection with virgin church-goer KC, who has been saving his virginity for marriage, was short-lived. ‘Having dated guys who just couldn’t keep it in their trousers, KC’s values make him oddly desirable. He’s such a nice guy, I genuinely don’t believe that he’d ever cheat on me,’ she said. ‘That’s what I want. But the problem is teaching someone and taking someone’s virginity. That’s too much pressure for me and I don’t want to be responsible for it.’
In 2019, AJ appeared on Celebrity First Dates Hotel Special, where she was matched with Duke. Despite hailing him a ’10 out of 10’ and describing the experience as ‘so much fun’, the pair didn’t last.
AJ was also linked to her Strictly Come Dancing partner Kai Widdrington when she took part on BBC’s dance competition in 2021. Their chemistry on the dancefloor led to rumours that they were more than dance partners. She teased the reports, saying, ‘There’s a lot of passion, there’s a lot of chemistry, there’s a lot of romance. It’s thrilling! And in practice, I could not look at Kai without bursting out into laughter.’
Kai explained, ‘If people want to think that, then great... but we were just doing our job, and AJ did a great job.’
Shereen Low is a senior news and entertainment writer for Grazia UK, who has covered some of the biggest showbiz news from the past decade.