The racy former life the woman who healed Vinnie Jones' broken heart: 'Blondie' ... trends now
Vinnie Jones' new girlfriend Emma Ford was a racy model and star of noughties lads channel Men & Motors - where Vinnie Jones also made his broadcasting breakthrough, MailOnline can reveal today.
Taunton-born Ms Ford, 47, who the 59-year-old footballer turned actor affectionately calls 'Blondie', had her own programme, 'Emma's A-Z Of American Sex', and was also a team captain on the gameshow 'A Question of Sex' in 2003.
She was also an actress and model, including in a magazine advert for fashion brand Urban Stone, which at the time was branded the raunchiest of all time with pictures taken by erotic photographer Bob Carlos Clarke, who regarded her as his 'muse'.
Two decades on she has left that world behind and became Vinnie's PA and crutch after losing his wife Tanya, dispelling his own fears that he could never love again five years after she died from cancer in 2019.
'Vinnie and Emma's relationship was very organic and started as purely a working friendship before it developed into something more,' a source close to the couple has said.
Ms Ford, now loved by viewers of Vinnie Jones in the Country as his patient and charming PA with a neat blonde pixie hair cut, has also quit drinking after years of hard working and partying in LA - as her new partner celebrates 11 years of sobriety.
Vinnie, who has said he is in a 'fantastic' relationship with Emma, helped launch Men & Motors in 1996. He also presented The Vinnie Jones Show, often from a pub or bar, interviewing a host of celebrities and sports people including Jack Charlton, Robbie Savage, Eric Bristow, Damon Hill and Peter Stringfellow in 1997.
But a year later his career exploded after his star performance in Guy Richie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Emma Ford in promo pictures for her Men & Motors show, Emma's A-Z Of American Sex
Emma working for Men and Motors as a presenter in 2003
Emma was a team captain on the M&M gameshow 'A Question of Sex' (left). She has become a star of Vinnie's farming documentary in her own right (right)
Vinnie Jones has failed his fantastic new girlfriend Emma Ford - who also starred in his Discovery+ show Vinnie Jones: In the Country (pictured together)
Tanya died at their home in Los Angeles six years after being diagnosed with skin cancer in 2013
The Vinnie Jones Show on Men & Motors - where he interviewed stars including Jack Charlton - often in a bar or pub
Emma is a former TV reporter (pictured interviewing Kevin Costner) who became PA to Vinnie. She was previously a PA to Mick Jones from The Clash
It is not known if Vinnie and Emma knew each other before she became his PA, but her career has also taken her to Hollywood.
The new couple were brought together by the pandemic and Vinnie's farm in West Sussex - and she also became a star of the documentary series about his new rural life that aired on Discovery+ last November.
But rumours of their romance began when they were seen with Vinnie's family enjoying a pub lunch just after Christmas this year.
Emma was a star in her own right before meeting Vinnie
And now Vinnie has himself revealed that he has found love with his PA - five years after the death of his wife Tanya and his own fears that he would never be happy again.
The 59-year-old star has said he is in a 'fantastic' relationship with his new partner.
Vinnie has admitted that he will never get over the death of his wife Tanya, 53, in 2019 at their LA home following a six-year battle with skin cancer.
But he said that his new partner and happiness shows that a 'flower can grow and and bloom' from the darkest of times.
He said: 'Moving forwards, we meet other people that we are fond of and we fall in love with and vice versa. Maybe she's calmed me down a little bit. Maybe she brings a different perspective to it all for me.'
Speaking to the Mirror, he admitted he had found love again with Emma. It is happy news for Vinnie who said in 2019: 'I will never be with anyone else'.
'You know, after four months, four years, five years, 10 years, you just keep moving forwards, the grief is always going to be in there', the star of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels said.
But he added: 'It's how other things can control it. It's how much the flower can grow and and bloom. I think, for me, grief was always black and grey, but it doesn't have to be. It can be colours and happy memories'.
'Vinnie and Emma's relationship was very organic and started as purely a working friendship before it developed into something more,' a source also told The Sun.
'Emma has brought the light back into Vinnie's eyes and she clearly makes him very happy.
Vinnie arrives for a family lunch at a pub - with Emma behind him to the left in the background in January - before their relationship became public
Vinnie has spoken openly about his battle with grief following Tanya's death. He said at the time of her death: 'I will never be with anyone else' and never love again
The footballer-turned-actor is starring in in Netflix's The Gentleman alongside Joely Richardson - pictured together. It aired this month
Emma has worked for the former Wimbledon footballer and was often shown being a voice of reason the show on Vinnie Jones in the Country.
One minute she was shown helping him doing the
