It’s one of the laws of TV land: when November comes around, a series of I’m A Celebrity will descend upon our TV screens to provide us with endless memes about celebs living in a jungle.
Surprise, surprise: the newest series starts this weekend, with a whole new batch of celebs (including Alex Jones, Ruby Wax and Martin Kemp) set to make the journey to Australia.
Also among the contestants is rapper Aitch — the Mancunian-born artist who has had hits with songs like Taste, Baby, and PSYCHO with Anne-Marie. And, er, for his maybe-romance with Chicken Shop Date star Amelia Dimoldenberg.
The pair first made headlines in 2022, then broke up a few weeks after announcing their relationship — but was it all a PR stunt as some of the internet insisted? Here’s what we know.
Rumours surface
@aitch12 Yeah you guessed it, f*** off now #fyp @ameliadimz ♥️
♬ Baby - Aitch & Ashanti
Aitch first appeared as a guest on Dimoldenberg’s Chicken Shop Date series all the way back in 2019, which is probably where they first formed a friendship. In it, she asked if he was a player, and found out he was “texting zero girls.”
She also asked him if he believed in love at first sight, to which he replied, “I believe in it, but it's never happened so I don't know. But I would like to think that one day I'll look at someone and fall in love.”
In early 2022, Aitch posted a series of TikTok videos showing him going on dates with a mystery woman, going for milkshakes. The internet guessed it was Dimoldenberg, but it wasn’t until date three that he confirmed her identity, via a Reel of the pair.
“Third date! It’s going well, bowling ya get meh,” he posted in the video, alongside a caption of, “Yeah you guessed it, f*** off now.”
Immediately the comments section was flooded by both excited and apprehensive fans, who also noted the timing of the relationship: Dimoldenberg was starring in the music video for Aitch’s new single Baby.
Better not be for publicity," one wrote; another agreed, writing, “U better not be playin.” Dimoldenberg, for her part, told Kiss FM that “I like him a lot.”
"I love that he loves me so much. It's nice when someone pays you attention and is interested in you right?"
For his part, Aitch told Capital FM that they were “just having a good time... you might not see any dates on TikTok anymore, trying to keep things more private.”
The breakup
@ameliadimz @aitch12 a new chapter 💘
♬ original sound - ameliadimz
A matter of weeks later, in March 2022, Dimoldenberg then posted a video to her TikTok account showing the pair of them sitting in a living room together.
In it, she tells Aitch she has something to say to him. The pair bicker over who should go first, before both saying at the same time that they “should be friends.”
“I think we’re better as friends,” she says, before Aitch adds, “I can’t sit back and watch you every other week go on a date with other rappers. And I know it’s not real but I just can’t do it.”
“I mean, I can’t stop doing that, I love to date,” she replies.
They then reveal that they’ve gotten each other a present: the same ‘best friends’ bracelet. Clearly, at least some of this was planned in advance; predictably, fans then flooded the comments section accusing the pair of faking the romance to boost their own profiles online.
Was it real?
People have speculated. In the comments posted below the ‘break up video’, one fan wrote that it was “all for PR,” to which Dimoldenberg replied, “It wasn’t.”
Another wrote, “No cause why did this hurt my feelings” — to which she replied, “Mine too... at least I’ve gained a best friend for life.”
In 2023, Aitch was also asked on the red carpet if the relationship was just a publicity stunt, which he refused to answer. When the interviewer said, “I’m going to take that as a yes,” he just laughed.
In April 2024, the rapper — by then single — wrote on Twitter that “I really miss @ameliadimz.”
A profession of love? Probably not: the tweet was released at the same time as his new song, Famous Girl, which features the lyrics, “Someone tell Michelle Keegan that I’m feeling her, but true say I really miss Amelia.”
The jury is still out. Perhaps I’m A Celeb will hold some clues.
