Alison Hammond addresses 22-year age gap with boyfriend for first time and sets record straight

This Morning host Alison, 49, opens up on year-long relationship with model David Putman, 27, and how she’s feeling better than ever

Alison Hammond on her love life, health and the piece of advice from her late mum that helped transform her life

Alison Hammond insists she fits “like a jigsaw” with her Russian masseur boyfriend – as she brushes off their 22-year age gap. This Morning host Alison, 49, has been dating David Putnam, 27, for a year – after the TV favourite reportedly booked him for a £150 massage.

Opening about their romance, she says she pays no attention to their ages as they balance each other out perfectly. “I can see how, on paper, you’d notice the age difference,” she begins. “But honestly, when we see the word ‘toyboy’ written about us, it bears no relation to what we have at all. Yes, I’m 22 years older than he is, but if you saw us together, you’d understand. People have said to me: ‘We get it now.’ He’s so mature and sensible, and I’m so not. And the things he says to me… they’re just so lovely.”

Alison and David enjoy a meal together ( 
Image:
Instagram/ @alisonhammond55)

Alison snuggles up to David ( 

Giving a rare insight into their relationship, Alison continued: “It’s like a jigsaw; we fit and it all comes together.” The ITV host was previously married to Noureddine Boufaied, the father of 19-year-old son Aidan – but they later divorced.

Art began imitating life after she wrote about a woman dating a 27-year-old in her book Bombshell before even meeting David. Sharing her happiness with the Russian model, Alison also proudly talks about feeling healthier than ever before after a lifestyle overhaul. In 2020 doctors warned her she was pre-diabetic and could face further health issues unless she made major changes to her life. At her heaviest, Alison was a size 28. She lost eight stone by cutting out sugar, walking more and working out with a personal trainer.

Happy Alison says she feels better than ever in new interview with Good Housekeeping

In a new interview with Good Housekeeping magazine, she says a conversation she had with her late mum also helped set her on the road to change. Maria died in January 2020 following a battle with cancer.

“Just before she died, Mum said to me: ‘If you can, sort out your weight, Alison’, and that really set it in my head,” recalled Alison. “My mum had type 2 diabetes and she was worried for me, so when I then found out that I was pre-diabetic, that was frightening. I thought: ‘I have to be an adult about this.’ The sweets had to stop – and the fatty foods.

“Twice a week, I see my personal trainer and I have a couple of weights in my bedroom. I walk, I stretch and sometimes I do a bit of yoga. I try to vary it so it’s not the same every day. After a session at the gym, I think I’m Venus Williams, with all those endorphins pumping around. If I miss a session or two with my trainer, I notice it. That kick you get out of the way you feel is so good.”

During a phone-in segment on This Morning two years ago, Alison broke down over her weight. “I’ve had obesity all my life,” she said. “What it is, your regulation system is out of whack. You can’t control wanting to eat all the time. A lot of people don’t realise – obesity is a disease. You can’t help it.”

She previously underwent gastric band surgery, before getting it removed three years later due to falling ill. Alison said she hasn’t turned to weight-loss medication to shed the pounds. “I think that, for people who need to use them, they’re a good thing,” she mused. “But for me, as soon as I hear any scare story, I get frightened. So I haven’t wanted to use them, but that’s not to say I wouldn’t in the future, and I certainly wouldn’t look down on anyone who did.”

No longer pre-diabetic, Alison says she’s happy with what she sees in the mirror. “I love my new shape and although I still have areas I’m conscious of, such as my arms and my tummy, it’s great being able to wear things I would never have been able to before,” she said “I mean, look at me, I’m a bombshell!”

Life is wonderful for mum-of-one Alison, who heaped praise on the other two men in her life – son Aidan and her This Morning Friday co-host Dermot O’Leary. “He’s (Aidan) grown into such a gentleman. He’s the yin to my yang; he’s like me, but a calmer version. I’m all, ‘Woo-hoo’ and he’s more, ‘Mum, chill.’ He doesn’t try to rein me in, though. He wouldn’t try to change me because, well, why mess with perfection?” She went on: “Dermot is such a gorgeous man to work with; so genuinely generous and kind. I get the best presents from him. Treatments at posh hotels, jewellery, chocolates – it’s honestly like having a real husband who spoils me!”

Alison on the cover of Good Housekeeping, out now