AFTER enduring heartbreak, Dani Dyer is finally getting the happy ever after she deserves – with friends of the star telling me she is the “calmest she’s ever been” as she prepares to wed her soulmate England player Jarrod Bowen.
The ex Love Island star is putting the final touches to the bash which will be a Bridgerton themed ceremony in the English countryside next month – and it’s going to be a party like no other.
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And we can reveal that Dani will stay with her parents – EastEnders actor Danny and mum Jo – the night before the nuptials in a nod to the traditional wedding she has always dreamed of.
The next morning Danny – who she reckons will be an “emotional wreck” – will walk her down the aisle while her twin one-year-old daughters Star and Summer will be flower girls.
I first met Dani ten years ago when she’d just filmed her first major role for gangster flick We Still Kill The Old Way.
She was giggly, enthusiastic and full of energy. Maybe slightly frenetic. She was still working as a dental nurse.
It was her first newspaper interview and she told me, her smile dropping slightly: “I’m proud of my dad but I want to be known as me – sometimes people just say, ‘Oh that’s Danny Dyer’s daughter’”.
A lot has happened in 10 years. But her dreams came true when she became a household favourite in her own right, stepping out of her dad’s shadow and winning Love Island with pen salesman Jack Fincham in 2018.
But they split a few months after the show ended due to Jack’s spiralling drug addiction.
Not one to be deterred, Dani went on to rekindle her romance with childhood sweetheart Sammy Kimmence with whom she had baby Santiago.
But in 2021 her dreams were shattered after Kimmence was jailed for three and a half years (serving 18 months) after scamming two elderly men out of £34k.
For many people, that would be enough turmoil to bury themselves. But not Dani.
Dani Dyer horrified as dad Danny reveals last time he had sex with her mum Jo – and x-rated reason behind Dubai holiday
Despite the heartbreak and becoming a single mum at aged 24, she bounced back.
And now she is preparing to marry “the love of her life” – West Ham United star and England footballer Jarrod – with those closest to her saying she is the calmest she’s ever been – a sure sign that she is entering a new wise and grounded stage of her life.
The friend says: “I have never known Dani to be so calm. She’s got so much to organise and think about but she is taking it all in her stride.
“There is a type of serenity and peacefulness within her as if she’s exactly where she is meant to be in life.
“That’s a lot to do with Jarrod, she loves him so much, but it’s also to do with the quiet strength and calm she has inside her. It’s a beautiful thing to see.”
The 28-year-old will walk down the aisle in mere weeks in the English countryside in a small Bridgerton themed wedding – in contrast to her parents Danny and Jo’s Spanish wedding which had over 100 guests, flamenco dancing and jellied eels.
Instead Dani has opted for fewer than 50 guests with her family – who she cites as her biggest inspiration – having major roles.
There is a type of serenity and peacefulness within her as if she’s exactly where she is meant to be in life
Friend
She also wants violins. Lots of them.
Former EastEnders actor Danny will walk her down the aisle while Jarrod’s little brother and Dani’s little boy Santi will be page boys.
Her brother Arty is going to be a groomsman. And she’s got six bridesmaids while Danny and Jarrod’s best man will be giving speeches.
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‘Emotional wreck’
Talking about the big day, Dani says: “Knowing Dad, he will be an emotional wreck.
“He’s already planning his speech, too, but I’m not worried.
“I’m more concerned about Jarrod’s best man. He’s very cheeky.”
But I can reveal that Dani will spend the night before the wedding with her best friend and mum Jo.
In a traditional nod she will stay apart from Jarrod and be with their twin daughters – Star and Summer who were born in May 2023 and will be flower girls on the big day – in her mum’s huge double bed.
The friend says: “Dani adores Jo who has been a constant throughout her life.
“She loves her dad, they have a great relationship, but it’s her mum who has always been there when Danny was away working. She’s her rock.
“She’s always admired her mum and dad for how they’ve stuck together through thick and think – she wants a forever relationship with Jarrod like theirs.”
In fact it is Danny and Jo’s relationship which has inspired her most.
The two met at school when they were 13, and had an on/off relationship until they finally tied the knot in 2016.
She’s always admired her mum and dad for how they’ve stuck together through thick and think – she wants a forever relationship with Jarrod like theirs
Friend
They have three kids – Dani, daughter Sunnie, 18, and son Arty, 11.
Danny once described Jo as “very patient” while Jo thinks Danny “is like a Spanish man really – he wants to do everything manana.”
Last week Dani splashed out for her hen do looking every inch a Bridgerton princess wearing a corset mesh top with pearl detailing and a ruched skirt.
Mum Jo joined her at the lavish bash as did her lookalike sister Sunnie and Love Island pal Georgia Steel.
Dani had her name in LED letters on the dance floor and a ‘Til Death Do Us Party’ photo on the wall.
Happy ever after
The celebrations came after Dani admitted her fears over fiancé Jarrod’s upcoming stag do, with her dad Danny joking that there will be strippers.
“No, you’re not,” insisted Dani, who went on to explain that at a different Hen she attended, they had a butler in the buff.
Dani said: ‘We had to draw him, we had to draw the naked man.”
Although Dani could still have her own stripper experience as she plans to jet off to Ibiza next week for her hen with 17 of her pals including sister Sunnie.
Dani and Jarrod met in 2021 after they became neighbours and he helped deliver her parcels – and she had no idea who he was.
She previously admitted how she used to wait until the England star left his house before she took her bins out — so he did not see her dressed down.
She said: “People were like ‘oh, Jarrod Bowen lives next door” but I didn’t follow football at the time, just wasn’t interested in football.
“Then he knocked on my door a couple of times because my parcels went there.
“I remember the first time I opened the door… you know what it’s like, slicked-back hair… and I opened the door and I didn’t know this is Jarrod Bowen and he was hot. Blue eyes, blonde hair, a bit of me.
“I was like ‘ohh, thanks!'”
They got engaged last summer on a romantic boat trip in Ibiza and now they are preparing for a life together with their ever growing brood.
Having seen Dani grow from a girl to a woman in the sometimes challenging world of showbusiness, it’s beautiful to see her finally get her happy ever after.
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