Jermain Defoe and Donna Tierney’s relationship timeline: From whirlwind romance to surprise split
Ex-England footballer Jermain Defoe has split from his wife just months after their £200,000 wedding, according to reports.
The former Spurs and West Ham star – who married just over six months ago – spent his Christmas on the Caribbean island of St Lucia while his wife Donna stayed home in Glasgow.
Defoe, 40, has recently been pictured without his wedding ring while Donna has gone back to using to her maiden name of Tierney online.
The 40-year-old has also unfollowed her husband on social media and neither has posted about one another for more than eight weeks.
They have both removed pictures on Instagram of the OK! Magazine front cover which starred their wedding from last June.
MailOnline takes a look back on their whirlwind romance, from meeting in January 2021 to their split just two years later.
Split: Ex-England footballer Jermain Defoe has split from his wife just months after their £200,000 wedding, according to reports
FIRST MEETINGS
Jermain first became acquainted with the Scottish beautician by ‘liking’ her pictures on social media.
They met in person for the first time in January 2021 at a charity do, where she asked him for a signed shirt.
Jermain said: ‘We met years ago when I was playing for Sunderland and I messaged her on Instagram. I sent her DM. We had a general chit-chat but hadn’t spoken for ages.
‘When I started playing for Rangers in 2019 I remembered Donna was from Glasgow and touched base with her again – I kept looking at her sexy pictures on Instagram.
Couple: Jermain first became acquainted with the Scottish beautician by ‘liking’ her pictures on social media
‘But we didn’t meet until January 2021 when Donna asked if I could give her a signed football shirt for a charity do.’
Just seven months later he got down on one knee and proposed to Donna at a £2,500-a-night Glasgow hotel that was decked out with light up ‘Marry Me’ letters and rose petals.
A source told the Daily Record at the time: ‘Donna was so thrilled at the effort Jermain went to. It was so romantic.
‘Signing for Rangers has turned out to be the best decision he’s ever made. He not only won the league title but found the woman of his dreams. They’re both beyond happy.’
Proposal: Back in August, the then-Rangers striker got down on one knee and proposed to the Scottish beautician, at the £2,500-a-night Blythswood Square Hotel that was decked out with light up ‘Marry Me’ letters and rose petals
WEDDING
The couple then married in a £200,000 ceremony at Cliveden House in June of this year.
The 250 guests included Tottenham assistant first team coach Ledley King, ex West Ham player turned TalkSport pundit Carlton Cole and former Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips.
The bride looked incredible in a plunging white gown with lace sleeves, finished off with a long veil.
She carried a bouquet of pink roses while her new husband was dapper in a cream jacket and waistcoat and bowtie.
Celebrations: The couple then married in a £200,000 ceremony at Cliveden House in June of this year (Donna at her hen do)
The 45 minute ceremony took place in a beautiful floral garden at the famous Cliveden estate, while at the reception a stunning light show took place in the skies above the grounds.
One insider told The Sun: ‘Donna looked beautiful. And Jermain looked like the cat that got the cream. It was a happy day full of celebration and joy.’
Jermain told OK! magazine: ‘This is my future, this is forever, this is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.’
On June 21 he posted online: ‘Dedicating my whole life to Donna Defoe was one of the easiest things I’ve ever done, and I can’t wait to have a life of pure love and happiness.
Loved-up: Donna told OK! magazine about how friends said how obvious it was Jermain appreciated her through ‘his special’ wedding speech and way he treated her 12-year-old daughter Olivia (pictured)
‘Our wedding was like a movie and I thank god for blessing us both with such a special day with family and friends who mean the world to us.’
Donna told OK! magazine about how friends said how obvious it was Jermain appreciated her through ‘his special’ wedding speech and way he treated her 12-year-old daughter Olivia.
Donna said: “Everyone keeps talking about how special Jermain’s speech was.
“They said it showed how much he appreciates me. The bit that got me was when he spoke about my daughter, who means the world to me.
‘That made me feel extra-special. My daughter loves Jermain so much, he’s such a good stepdad. He’s amazing.
‘I couldn’t have asked or wished for anything better than the way he treats Olivia.’
MARRIAGE TROUBLES
Radio silence: Jermain has only posted pictures of himself without his wedding ring and with no mention of his wife
A source told the Sun: ‘The marriage seems to be in trouble. You would think they would want to spend their first Christmas together as husband and wife but they haven’t so things aren’t looking at all good.’
For nearly two months there has been a noticeable silence.
Jermain has only posted pictures of himself without his wedding ring and with no mention of his wife.
Donna has only posted pictures of herself and her family and wished her 8,000 followers: ‘all the love and happiness in the world’, beneath a picture of her 12-year-old daughter unwrapping Christmas presents.
Donna suggested in an Instagram story that she was glad to see the back of 2022 — and was ‘looking ahead’ to the New Year.
CHEATING ALLEGATIONS
The Sun on Sunday revealed Jermain had begged a nurse for sex just a month after getting married.
Jermain was last year said to have contacted a woman via Instagram and invited her to join him in his Range Rover just weeks after his June nuptials – though the sportsman denied any wrongdoing at the time.
On July 14, Jermain had allegedly already begun messaging another woman and later tried to arrange a meet-up.
The Sun said the woman, who was not named, met the footballer years ago in a bar, but they hadn’t spoken in ages.
She said: ‘Then he started messaging me on Instagram in July. He was desperate to meet me and we flirted a lot.
‘Then, when I realised he was married, I didn’t want it to go any further.’
The woman said she didn’t think it would have been fair on his wife and questioned why he would be looking for another woman ‘so soon’ after his wedding.
In July he started messaging the woman, and eventually asked her to meet up for a romp in his Range Rover and called her ‘babe’ in voice notes.
She added: ‘Our messages were a bit of fun at the time, but there was no point in carrying it on.’
Jermain has previously found himself at the centre of cheating rumours, including on his ex Alexandra Burke.
In 2017 he was accused of causing the break-up of radio presenter Ben Weston’s marriage, months after he bought a hot tub from his saleswoman wife Sally.
Allegations: The Sun on Sunday revealed Jermain had begged a nurse for sex just a month after getting married
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