Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Katie Fitzpatrick

Gemma Atkinson says 'off you pop sunshine' as she jokes about why she hasn't married Gorka yet

Gemma Atkinson has joked about why she hasn't married Gorka Marquez yet in a tongue-in-cheek chat with radio co-star Mike Toolan. The duo, who present the drivetime show on Manchester's Hits Radio, were discussing the busiest day for divorce on the first working day of the new year.

The pair were chatting about the first working day of the year when divorce law specialists see a sharp increase in enquiries, which this year fell Tuesday January 3, and Gemma had fans in stitches with her blunt retort.

"Today is the busiest day of the year for divorce lawyers, because of the tension of Christmas," explained Mike. Gemma replied: "It's kind of like you spend it with their families as well. It's not just you and your partner, it's families, and relatives and a lot of food and drink in a close proximity."

READ MORE:

She then added to Mike: "Without delving too personal you were part of that stat weren't you? You initiated a divorce on this very day in 2009."

As they discussed the matter further, Gemma surprised Mike as she said: "The thing I always say about this day, if it's the busiest day for divorce, is the best thing to do, just don't get married."

"But you're engaged?" he quizzed.

Gemma and Gorka got engaged in 2021 (Gemma Atkinson Instagram)

"Yeah but there's a reason you ain't had an invite," she quipped.

"Hang on, let's go over this logic," he delved. And Gemma joked: "If I don't marry him he can't divorce me. He can leave me but he ain't taking anything because there's nothing legal. Off you pop sunshine on to the next one."

And Mike jokingly asked as his co-presenter burst out laughing: "Gemma, Gorka's not listening is he?"

A thrilled Gemma announced her engagement to Strictly Come Dancing star Gorka during a romantic dog walk on Valentine's Day 2021.

Showing off her sparkler of an engagement ring and planting a kiss on her man, she said: "Valentine’s forever... Of course I said yes." And Gorka wrote: "The best day with my forever Valentine’s. I asked and she said YES!!!!!!"

Their Valentine's Day engagement marked three years since the smitten pair went public with their romance. Former Emmerdale and Holloaks actress Gemma, 36, met Strictly professional dancer Gorka, 30, when she was a contestant on the BBC One dance show in 2017. In July 2019 they welcomed their daughter Mia.

When she was expecting Mia, Gemma shared a throwback video which proved their paths actually crossed long before their time on Strictly. Unbeknown to them, Gemma and Gorka were in the same location in Bahamas at the same time years earlier.

While Gemma was 'living her best life' dancing along to music while tucking into a plate of chips at a waterfront bar, Gorka was on one of the cruise ships moored just feet away from his future partner. After sharing stories of their travels Gemma, from Bury, found a video that showed her partying at the bar which turned out to be one of their mutual favourites with a view of the ships that Gorka danced on at the time.

She told her followers on Instagram: "Okay okay I LOVE stuff like this! Turns out from our many conversations myself and Gorks have both visited a lot of the same places. She added: "I genuinely believe sometimes people are destined to meet each other but only when the timing is right. "At this point, it most definitely wasn’t for either of us.

"I get butterflies watching this now knowing how close Gorks was but at the time being blissfully unaware living my best life with a plate of chips and good music. "I was always coming for ya though Gorks!"

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.