SHE once dated Hollywood pin-up Brad Pitt, but I’m A Celebrity’s Sinitta says that her perfect bloke is actually someone like jungle pal Harry Redknapp.
The Eighties pop singer has also been romantically linked to Simon Cowell and David Essex, and was asked to be George Michael’s pretend girlfriend.
But she dreams of finding the same kind of love that Harry, 79, has with wife Sandra.
The couple married in the Sixties and the former football boss describes their wedding as “the day I won the lottery”.
Sinitta, who rose to fame with 1986 hit So Macho, says: “The lyrics to that song still resonate — ‘I’m after a hunk of a guy, an experienced man of the world’.
“I like an old-fashioned gentleman. Someone who’s really, really secure in themselves, extremely masculine.
“And because I’m becoming higher maintenance as I get older, I want a man who is unflappable. I’m talking about somebody who’s really grounded, calm and fun, but who is still a proper guy.
“If I had to choose one celebrity on the planet to be my prince, that dream man would be like a young version of Harry Redknapp.
“He’s hilarious, a proper bloke who loves sport. But most of all, he loves his wife, Sandra.
“I love that she is his most precious, treasured thing.
“That’s the kind of guy I want.”
Fans will see Sinitta enter the jungle with a line-up including Harry on April 6, when the new series of I’m a Celebrity: All Stars! airs on ITV from South Africa.
Other famous former contestants featuring in the series, which was filmed last autumn, include retired boxer David Haye, Coronation Street actress Beverley Callard and comedian Seann Walsh.
Ex-Towie favourite Gemma Collins, who quit the main show after three days in 2014, is also making a comeback.
We revealed she allegedly accused Sinitta of being a rat and leaking stories about her to the Press in a group WhatsApp chat.
It was a Wagatha Christie-style move likened to Coleen Rooney’s 2019 claims about Rebekah Vardy.
But Sinitta has laughed off The GC’s accusations, and tells us: “The only rat in the jungle was in the trials, and no animals were harmed for the production.”
Seattle-born Sinitta — who says she is now in her “sixties” — was educated at a British boarding school and first appeared in musical theatre before her chart breakthrough.
Her first high-profile romance was with singer David Essex, when she was 16 and he was 37.
Sinitta’s agent would often get approached by men wanting to take her out, including Wham! great George Michael. But all was not as it seemed with the chart-topper.
Sinitta says: “I was obsessed with him. I fancied him like mad. It was around the time of the New Romantic music era.
“Everybody was camp, wearing frilly shirts and eyeliner, so I had no idea he was gay.
“I couldn’t believe it when the request came through from his publicist asking me to pretend to be his girlfriend.
“Can you imagine? It wasn’t, ‘George Michael wants to be your boyfriend’.
“But, ‘he just wants you to pretend he likes you’.
“It was like being stroked and slapped at the same time.
“I thought, ‘I’ll fall in love with him and then I’ll be heartbroken’, so I just said, ‘No, that’s not going to work for me’.
“We stayed friends and would go clubbing together, but there was no romance.”
Another approach came from Brad Pitt — but at the time, Sinitta had no idea who he was.
He was not yet a household name and had just landed four episodes playing Randy in the TV soap Dallas.
Discussing the approach from a woman on his behalf – long before internet dating – Sinitta says: “I used to get lots of requests like that from all sorts of people, including Sylvester Stallone.
When I was asked about Brad, I was like, ‘No, I’m not interested. Why would I date anybody I’ve not met?’. I didn’t know who he was.
“He was in Dallas at the time and I was more of a Dynasty fan.
“Later that day, though, I saw pictures of this gorgeous boy on the desk.
“I picked them up, waved them about and whispered to her, ‘Who is he? He’s cute’, and she said, ‘That’s the guy who wants to meet you’.
“I was like, ‘OK, yes. Get him on the phone’.
“We met and just clicked. We were both quiet people, Christian, normal and healthy people underneath our crazy, public lifestyles and, at that point, he wasn’t really, really famous. He was just the hottest boy — drop dead gorgeous.
“Everywhere we went, all the gay guys were after him, all the girls were after him.
“Everybody just loved him because he was stunning.”
They attended the 1988 Smash Hits Poll Winners’ Party together.
But, not long after, his head was turned by Emily Lloyd, whose dad Roger Lloyd Pack played Trigger in Only Fools And Horses.
Sinitta says: “People ask me, ‘Why didn’t we stay together?’. I don’t know what really happened, but it was something to do with Emily. After that, we kind of just lost touch.”
One of the most significant relationships of her life, with Simon Cowell, followed.
On meeting him in Soho’s nightclub scene, which she frequented with Janis Levy from the Cadbury Flake ads, she says: “I was certain he was interested in Janis, like everybody else was.
“So it was a huge shock when I discovered he liked me. I liked Simon because of his humour.
“Simon had all these cheesy lines, which I found hilariously funny.
“Most guys in those days would say, ‘Wow, you’re so beautiful,’ but Simon just teased me relentlessly about everything and used to call me, ‘Funny Face’.
“I fancied him, but I never dreamed we’d get together.”
Simon signed Sinitta to his music label as his first artist and they were often pictured together, with him showing off his muscles in a trademark white vest.
She says: “People joked that he looked like someone out of the Village People, but I think he looked like a cross between Mel Gibson and Patrick Swayze.
“Once, we were in LA and there was a picture of Mel Gibson on the cover of a magazine.
“And you may think I’m stretching my imagination, but I thought it was Simon.
“I found it easy to chat to him and giggle and talk.
“I remember thinking, ‘Wow, I would never have dreamed that somebody like him would like somebody like me’.”
They had an on-off romantic relationship, which turned into close friendship.
Sinitta reveals it was her ex husband Andy Willner, who, when they were still just friends, said that Simon would never marry her.
She explains: “Andy would say, ‘You are not going to marry Simon’.
“And I would be like, ‘Well, no, obviously I’m going to marry Simon’.
“He would say, ‘Me and the boys were out the other night with Simon.
“I promise you, Simon is not about to marry you’.
“It was based on what was going on, on those nights.”
In 2002, Simon headed to Los Angeles to make American Idol, but did not take Sinitta.
So she made a “revenge move” and married Andy in Las Vegas. She says: “It was so cheesy and awful and not me at all, as I’m a romantic girl and I can’t believe I did that.”
By 2010, they had divorced.
Sinitta is godmother to Simon’s son Eric, 12, who he has with fiancee Lauren Silverman.
He is godfather to Sinitta’s adopted kids Zac and Magdalena, both 19.
And when she releases her new album, Symphony of Love!, later this year, Simon will undoubtedly give his verdict.
She says: “It’s going to be an old-school record with new material, gospel and maybe some remixes of old favourites. I don’t think So Macho will be in there, but never say never.”
Of her love life, she adds: “Maybe one day I will find that perfect man.
“I believe there are good guys out there, you’ve just got to find them.”
