Ian Bailey is back out dating again after splitting up with his long-term partner Jules Thomas.
He has admitted going out with at least two different women that he met on Facebook.
The man, who denies killing French beauty Sophie Toscan du Plantier, said: “I have a lot of women contacting me via Facebook who would like to meet me.
“We chat online and then if we like each other we send each other pictures.
“I have gone out with two on official dates. We arranged to meet for dinner and drinks, and it’s all good fun.
“It’s nice to get back to some sort of a normal life again after everything that has happened. I just want to clear my name. These women believe my story and know I am innocent.”
Mr Bailey, 64, said none of the romances are serious and that it was just a question of getting to know a few new people.
He and renowned painter Jules were together for over 25 years.
They separated a few months ago and he is still living in a room at her home outside Schull, West Cork.
Jules still believes in his innocence and refuses to make him leave the house.
The eccentric Englishman last night told the Irish Mirror that he is now very close to finding himself a new home in the area.
But he has no plans to shack up with another woman for a long time. He added: “My private life is my business.”
Mr Bailey also insisted he is not in the least bit worried after a person recently came forward and made a fresh statement about the case to gardai.
The elderly man, who Mr Bailey knows and also lives in the area, claims a person told him that they washed blood off clothes the day after the murder on Christmas Eve 1996.
It is believed the man was a friend of Sophie’s.
It is understood she previously told this person before she died she was planning to move back to Ireland because of complications with her life in Paris, and she and her husband were about to split up.
It is also understood that this individual often socialised with Mr Bailey and Jules.
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