Dani Dyer on wedding moment that made Jarrod Bowen & dad Danny sob, the Strictly curse & THAT X-rated footie chant

AFTER tying the knot, most women plan to spend that first year kicking back and enjoying married life – but not Dani Dyer.

After getting hitched to West Ham and England footballer Jarrod Bowen, 28, at the five-star Langley Hotel in Buckinghamshire in May, Dani’s announced she’s joining this year’s Strictly Come Dancing line-up, jokingly calling it: “The second most amazing thing I’ve done this year!”

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But with the dreaded Strictly Curse – which has been blamed for the breakdown of at least 21 relationships over the 20 years it’s been on air – isn’t she a bit concerned that it could jeopardise her marriage?

“No!” she laughs. “Jarrod’s so chill. We aren’t worried. There is no Strictly Curse. As soon as me and Jarrod met, we just gelled.

“We get on so well, and I’ve always wanted to have a nice, chilled and easy relationship. If we have a problem, we talk about it. I can’t be bothered with games, and when I met him there was none of that. I’m just so glad I got a good prince at the end. Finally!”

‘I WANT TO PUSH MYSELF’

There’s no doubt Dani’s family adore their son-in-law, especially her dad, Danny, 48, who is an avid West Ham supporter. The former EastEnders actor joked he’s: “More in love with Jarrod Bowen than Dani is.”

But appearing on the BBC1 dancing show means a chance for the 29-year-old to wow her in-laws.

“I’m so excited,” she admits.

“I want to push myself as much as I can. I’ve always watched it, but I never ever thought I’d be asked to do it. It’s just such an honour.

“Last year, Jarrod’s mum was watching it with me. She loves manifestation, so I call her the white witch, and she said: ‘I would love that to be you next year.’ And now I’m doing it, so I think it was her!”

Amid the sequins and fake tan, Dani will have her hands full, juggling the famously intense rehearsal schedule with her two-year-old twin daughters Star and Summer, and four-year-old son Santiago.

“It is really hard juggling all three,” she admits.

“I can sort of manage one child – anyone can do that. But when it’s three, it’s a lot. You just can’t physically do it on your own. But I’ve got a good routine now.

“Jarrod’s family live four hours away, but his mum is a teaching assistant, so when she’s on holiday she comes down and helps us as much as she can. My mum helps, too. But it can be exhausting.

“Thankfully, the twins are starting nursery and Santi is starting school in September. I feel like he’s ready, but I’m so sad!

“We went shopping the other day to get his uniform, and there were loads of kids in the shop crying, and then he was crying.

“I think on his first day of school, I’ll be worried about him. But at least I’ll be busy doing Strictly so there’ll be no free time!”

‘IT CAN BE EXHAUSTING’

Reality shows and school uniform shopping aside, how have the first three months of marriage been?

“It doesn’t feel any different,” she says.

“It really doesn’t. But it was just the best day of our lives. Friends that were already married were telling me to take it all in, so I was just so chilled in the morning because I was marrying someone so special.

“It was perfect. The weather was stunning. My dad cried. It was a real moment for him, giving his daughter away. And to be honest Jarrod really cried, too. I didn’t think he would.

“He’s not an emotional person at all – though he did cry when the twins were born.

“Seeing him sob like that at the wedding set my dad off again. Obviously everyone knows how much he loves Jarrod. It felt really special.”

Seeing him sob like that at the wedding set my dad off again. Obviously everyone knows how much he loves Jarrod. It felt really special

Dani Dyer

Like most brides, Dani had the post-wedding blues after all the planning and organising was over.

“The next day, I was so emotional,” she admits.

“I was on such a high and everyone is celebrating you, but then it’s like: ‘Oh god, it’s done now.’ You spend so much time getting all the finer details sorted and you have the day and you are like: ‘What next?’”

But at least she had the honeymoon to eke out the celebrations a bit longer?

“It rained the whole time,” she says, rolling her eyes.

“We went to Lake Como and I didn’t really think to look at the weather, because I just assumed it was warm. But it rained for three days straight and there’s not much to do in Lake Como in the rain, so we binged the whole series of MobLand.

“Friends were sending bottles of champagne to the room, so I was having a lunchtime bath with my champagne because I couldn’t do anything.

“To be honest, it was nice to do nothing because we don’t do that ever. Between football and the kids, we very rarely get to spend a lot of time together on our own. So it was really nice to have that time waking up and enjoying breakfast, just the two of us.”

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While Dani embraced our tongue-in-cheek, Stepford-Wives-themed shoot, in reality she and Jarrod have a much more equal relationship.

”I am so like this all the time at home,” she jokes.

“Jarrod would probably like it if I was! I actually do the ironing. Jarrod takes the bins out, but I do the recycling. We take turns cooking – but I make food for the kids.”

While she might seem like a domestic goddess, Dani’s had some mishaps in the washing department when it comes to Jarrod’s West Ham kit.

“So, the football kit that Jarrod wears on the pitch is washed by the club,” she explains.

“But they have their kit that they’ll travel in, so I’ll wash it. But you have to really put it on a real sensitive wash. You can imagine with three kids how much laundry there is.

“I just throw everything into the machine on the same setting, but his football kit came out completely destroyed. It was all frayed, so I was getting the scissors out to try and cut all the ends off. Luckily, he didn’t notice and I fixed it!”

Aside from destroying Jarrod’s kit, having three kids under four and getting ready for Strictly, Dani has also found time to co-design her first collection with Peacocks – which she says has been a joy to work on.

“Now that I’m getting older, I’m dressing differently. I’m a mum, so I don’t have lots of time to plan outfits and I want to be able to shove things on and still look good.

“I went for a preppy vibe with rugby tops, jeans, cosy sweats and cute co-ords that are all easy to wear.

Jarrod’s so chill. We aren’t worried. There is no Strictly Curse. As soon as me and Jarrod met, we just gelled

Dani Dyer

“It was really important to me to have a range that was affordable. I love a budget buy. Don’t get me wrong, I like nice things, but I think having a nice designer bag with some high street is the perfect mix.”

Of course apart from Jarrod and Santi, the other man in Dani’s life is her dad.

But the actor – who appears in Disney+ hit Rivals as well as Sky’s Mr Bigstuff, for which he recently won a BAFTA – is so in demand that Dani has to keep doing their podcast, Live And Let Dyers, so she can actually spend time with him.

“That man is so busy,” she laughs. “He’s having a good time at the minute. Like, he’s absolutely smashing it. He’s having his moment right now.

“He keeps saying: ‘I can’t believe it, babe.’ He took a real risk leaving EastEnders, but things just keep getting better and better for him. He deserves it all.

“He’s been in the industry since he was 14, so he really appreciates it. The BAFTA win was a massive one.

“He has the award up in the house. He even brought it to my wedding to show people! He talked about it in his speech. It was really comical and funny, though.”

The pair have also been filming a new Sky series called The Dyers’ Caravan Park, where they take on the challenge of running a caravan park at Priory Hill and Nutts Farm Holiday Park on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.

“My dad loved going to the caravan as a kid. It’s been amazing fun. We are trying to make it better, but we are not business people – we can’t pretend to know it all, so we’ve gone down the comedy route. Dad would love to buy a caravan now.

“But it’d be really hard for him. He says: ‘I’d have everyone knocking on my door.’”

They also spend time together when they head to London Stadium to watch Jarrod play.

“I never thought I’d like football, ever,” she says.

I never thought I’d like football, ever. But I love it now. I get so into it, even if I still don’t know the offside rule

Dani Dyer

“But I love it now. I get so into it, even if I still don’t know the offside rule. Jarrod has explained it to me a million times, but it goes in one ear and out the other, so he says he doesn’t even try now!”

Surprisingly, Dani doesn’t even mind the rude song they sing about her at the grounds. Set to the tune of Gala’s Freed From Desire, they chant: “Bowen’s on fire and he’s f**king Dani Dyer.”

“They sing it when I’m there, but it’s funny. It doesn’t bother me. Some people think they might change the lyrics now I’m his wife, but I don’t mind it the other way.

“I like the West Ham fans – they are really nice to me, and so loyal. They come up to me now and say: ‘Oh, Jarrod’s a legend, can I have a picture?’ or: ‘Your dad’s a legend, can I have a picture?’

“I’m like: ‘What do you want one with me for?’ But they are really sweet!”

While the forward has another five years left on his contract that would keep him at West Ham until 2030, there is always the risk he could be sold to another club, either up north or abroad. Does Dani stress about it?

“You never know what’s going to happen,” she says.

“We’ve always said that we’ll take it as it comes. If it happens, we’ll go. I’ve always lived seven minutes away from my mum and dad, but I would go as it’s his career, so we’d follow him.

“He has to take every opportunity. I married into that, although I’ve been lucky so far.”

• Dani’s collection with Peacocks is out now, available at 340 stores nationwide and online at Peacocks.co.uk.

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