Amanda Cronin didn't recognise Andrew Ridgeley on first meeting

Andrew Ridgeley’s new girlfriend didn’t know who he was when they first met.

Amanda Cronin didn't know who Andrew Ridgeley was when they first met

Amanda Cronin didn’t know who Andrew Ridgeley was when they first met

The Wham! singer has struck up a romance with Amanda Cronin but the 47-year-old model had no idea about his pop star past when they started chatting after being seated next to each other at a mutual friend’s birthday dinner last month.

Amanda said: “He introduced himself as Andrew, and I didn’t really get who he was at first,’ she says. ‘All I knew was that he was wearing this beautiful, patterned tuxedo, looked very handsome and he seemed very interested in chatting.”

Amanda had been reluctant to attend Olivia Falcon’s birthday bash over the Platinum Jubilee weekend because she feared she’d be alone amongst lots of couples, so brought along a date, also named Andrew, for the occasion.

She told the Daily Mail newspaper: “To be honest, I didn’t really want to go because I knew there would be lots of couples. But in the end I thought, ‘Why not?’

“Olivia had said there was someone coming to the party who was single and ready to mingle, but she didn’t let on who it was. So I actually took a date with me, who also happened to be called Andrew…

“‘So I had my Andrew on my right, the other Andrew on my left, and we started chatting straight away. And then we chatted all through dinner.”

The pair then went on a few dates before going public with their romance at Wimbledon late last month and though it is still early days, Amanda is smitten with her new man.

She gushed: “It’s been very unexpected, but he’s very happy and I’m very happy.

“We have already booked a holiday for next summer and we are talking about some trips in the autumn in the UK.

“We have so much in common, and we honestly just laugh and laugh when we’re together.

“I would say I’m more than a little in love.”

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