How Danny Cipriani was finally tamed by wife Victoria Rose after assault charges and string of famous exes
THE old rugby adage is “what goes on tour stays on tour” - but unfortunately for former England star Danny Cipriani that hasn’t always been the case.
Details of his drunken revelry and dating exploits turned the fly-half into one of the sporting world’s biggest bad boys.
Over the years he has bedded and cheated his way through dozens of women, including Kelly Brook, 41, Kirsty Gallacher, 45, and Katie Price, 42, who famously dubbed him “Danny Chipolata”.
But now it seems his womanising ways are over after it emerged he married his girlfriend Victoria Rose in a surprise wedding.
Danny revealed their engagement after just four months of dating back in August, describing her as "the one".
The 33-year-old, who currently plays for Bath, fell head over heels for the mental health campaigner last summer and announced that he had married his “best friend” on social media on Tuesday.
Victoria, 39, who has previously dated Alex Reid, appears to have tamed the former rugby wildman.
Love with Cheeky Girl
His first reported celebrity romance was with Cheeky Girl Monica Irimia in 2007 - but the pair split after it was reported he had cheated on her with model Larissa Summers.
After their acrimonious break-up, Monica went on to warn his next big love Kelly Brook to steer clear of him.
Monica said: "He doesn't want a steady relationship. He just wants – dot dot dot – let’s put it that way!"
But it was his two-year relationship with Kelly which catapulted him from promising rugby star to red-carpet royalty.
Relationship with Kelly 'overwhelming'
The couple looked like the perfect celebrity couple but away from the cameras Danny was struggling.
He later said: “It was overwhelming. Paparazzi outside my house every day when I was with Kelly.
“I was only 20, and just didn’t have the emotional maturity to cope. Everything I said, everything I did, seemed to be misinterpreted.”
While the pair split up several times things didn’t finally fizzle out between them until years later.
But in 2010, during their time apart, Danny was linked to US actress Lindsay Lohan.
Praise for 'sweet' Lindsay Lohan
Speaking of the very short-lived romance he said: "I met Lindsay in LA and we have been friends for a long time.
"She’s obviously been through a lot of bad things but she’s a really sweet girl."
Cipriani and Lohan were spotted on two occasions at Hollywood clubs but things got messy when the pair crossed paths with another woman linked to the star - Jasmine Waltz.
Model Jasmine, 38, later said: "Danny introduced me to Lindsay. He turned to her and said, 'Meet Jasmine, I am in love with her and we're going to get married.'
"From that moment on she was incredibly hostile to me and was making nasty comments. I didn't say anything back to her."
Things between the two women allegedly escalated, with shocked onlookers claiming Jasmine had slapped Lindsay in the nightclub altercation.
"With hindsight he was trying to make her jealous - and he certainly succeeded," Jasmine admitted.
Danny messes with the Pricey
But all that drama was just the warm up for his relationship with Katie Price in 2011.
When Pricey found out he'd cheated, she wasn’t shy about coming forwards with details of their relationship.
In her explosive 2013 autobiography - Love, Lipstick and Lies - she revealed how she walked in on him in bed with another woman.
She also nicknamed him Danny Chipolata - a reference to his manhood.
Katie, 42, wrote: "In my experience, he was a bit – erm – lean in the most obvious departments.
"That’s why I nicknamed him Danny Chipolata. He can no longer hit the right spots on the rugby field and he certainly can’t find them on a woman."
Lean in the most obvious departments
Katie Price
Of the comment that would haunt him, Danny later told The Sun: "I have no ill feeling towards that and it’s just how it is. At the time, it was frustrating."
But Danny moved on quickly to Australian model Lara Bingle in 2011.
Danny dumps Australian model
Sources close to her claimed that she had "fallen in love with Danny" in the heady early days of their relationship.
But he dumped her just weeks later.
Lara’s representatives confirmed that she'd been shocked to see the romance end without any warning.
Her management told The Herald Sun: "Lara was as surprised about the split as I am sure anyone else might be.
"Unfortunately, sometimes things just don't work out as expected."
Hit by a bus
In 2013, and back with Kelly, there was more scandal for the rugby star, who was photographed leaving hospital on crutches and a bruised face.
It emerged the then Sale Sharks player had been hit by a double decker bus during a 14-venue pub crawl with teammates in fancy dress.
As he was discharged, he tweeted: “Thank you for all the well wishes, means a lot. My ribs are a bit sore. Feel like I’ve been hit by a bus...”
As the model nursed him back to health, he cheated on her with at least six girls, dishing out filthy texts, dirty pictures and requests for sex from a secret second phone.
A source at the time said he was “trying to get help” for his problems.
Kelly ends relationship with 'car crash' Danny
The pair split for good and Kelly later described him as “car crash”.
Shortly after he was linked to the late Love Island star Sophie Gradon.
The pair dated before she found fame and she later revealed the experience has left her “heartbroken”.
Talking about the romance, the Newcastle beauty - who passed away in June 2018 - told The Sun: “It did kind of fizzle out. I was never sure where I stood with him.
“Things came to a head when I saw an article that he was dropping a girl off and it was pictured she was seen getting out of his car.
"My mum rang me at work and said ‘there is something you won't like’. Then I knew.
“In reality I was heartbroken, I was upset and hurt."
Kirsty Gallacher left 'devastated'
Another beautiful brunette to be left in his wake was sports presenter Kirsty Gallacher.
The pair embarked on a six-month relationship in 2015 but ended things “because of the 12 year age gap".
A source told The Sun at the time: "Kirsty was devastated but agreed it was for the best.
"She and Danny were intense for a while but it became difficult. It didn't help that he's younger and she has kids."
'Mortified' over assault charges
He found himself on the wrong side of the law in 2015, when he was charged with drink-driving after crashing his £60,000 Mercedes into a taxi hours after a match.
And three years later he was charged with assaulting a cop after a "boozed-up nightclub row".
Danny - who had only just returned to the England squad - said he was "truly sorry" and "mortified" after he admitted common assault and resisting arrest during a reported 1am incident in Jersey.
The then Gloucester FC fly-half was fined over the charges.
Mike Preston, defending, said Cipriani had suffered "extreme embarrassment and knows he has let himself, his family and his club down".
'Controlling' behaviour
There were more unfortunate headlines in 2018 when he was dumped by by his girlfriend over his “controlling” behaviour that left her contemplating suicide.
Hope Stubbings told a friend that she was made to feel worthless after the England rugby ace established that she “belonged to him” and persuaded her to accept him bedding other women.
Love blooms with Victoria Rose
After a tough time, Danny began dating Victoria in early 2020.
The pair got engaged after just four months in August last year.
Danny announced the engagement on social media, writing: "You make me the happiest man in the world.
"I love waking up I had with you every morning, not knowing which one of our personalities is going to arise, and how we fall in love with each other over and over again.”
I had delayed onset of grief
Danny Cipriani
The pair also overcame a miscarriage, losing their baby 24 weeks into the pregnancy.
He continued: "During that period, when the season was stopped, we also lost a baby. I think, as the male, I had a delayed onset of grief about that.
"You try to pick your partner up and you don't realise at the time the effect it has on you. We went through that process together and we are really strong now. We're in a really good position to start trying again and we're happy about that."
Danny 'ready to compete again'
Danny will also begin playing for Bath in May after signing an extended one-year contract that includes the end of the current season.
The former England fly-half left Gloucester in December having played just one match of the 2020-21 campaign.
“He’s good,” reported Bath boss Stuart Hooper when quizzed about Cipriani’s state of mind and physical health after nearly four months without a club.
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“He is looking after himself, he is having an opportunity to look after his body, to rest first and foremost both mentally and physically and get himself back in a position where he is ready to compete again.”
It’s clear that Danny has emerged from life’s scrum in a better place.