‘Love Island’ Star’s Athlete Beau Shoots Down Engagement Rumors

Love Island star Dani Dyer and her boyfriend, soccer player Jarrod Bowen, are not engaged yet, Bowen said last month. The two U.K. stars started speculation Bowen, 25, proposed after The Sun claimed he picked out an engagement ring. Bowen plays for West Ham United in the Premier League and was called up to the England national team on May 24.

“No, people thought I was engaged, but I don’t know where that came from,” Bowen told reporters after he was called up, the Daily Star reported on May 31. Bowen told England’s social media team Dyer, 25, and his mother were both by his side when he got the call-up news. “I was at home with my mum and my girlfriend and I saw the call and felt a bit sick for a few hours but no I was obviously buzzing and I’m buzzing to be here now,” Bowen said.

The engagement rumors stemmed from a May 16 report from The Sun. A source told the outlet Bowen spent £10,000 (about $12,300) on an engagement ring for Dyer. “Jarrod has known for a long time that Dani is the one,” the source said. “He picked out a ring a while back and it cost him over £10,000. Jarrod used a jewelers he knows Dani is a fan of and is confident she’ll love the ring.”

Another insider claimed Bowen and Dyer have “lots planned for the summer,” and Cowen had “one very special thing” on his mind. “They are so loved up and everyone in the family is a big fan of Jarrod – particularly dad Danny,” the second source said. “Jarrod and Danny are really close and he’s already asked him if he can marry her.”

Dyer confirmed she was dating Bowen in October 2021. Her father, EastEnders actor Danny Dyer, “thinks Jarrod’s a lovely guy,” she told The Sun last year. “He’s invested in all of the West Ham players – because he supports the team and follows some of them, he’s like: ‘They’re all my friends.’ I’m like: ‘Right, OK, Dad,’” she said.

Dyer began acting in her father’s projects before she broke out as a reality star. In 2018, she competed in Survival of the Fittest before winning ITV2’s Love Island later that year. While on Love Island, she met Sammy Kimmence, with whom she shares a son, Santiago. Dyer and Kimmence reportedly broke up after Kimmence was jailed for scamming two elderly men out of £34,000. Dyer also hosts the podcast Sorted with the Dyers with her father and she had a guest role on EastEnders last year.

Last week, The Sun reported that Optomen TV asked several wives and girlfriends of English soccer players if they were interested in making a Netflix documentary during the World Cup. Dyer was reportedly offered a slot, alongside Jack Grealish’s girlfriend Sasha Attwood and Luke Shaw’s wife Anoushka Santos. “The proposed docu-series would show off the luxury lifestyle these women lead as they support their other halves in the World Cup lead-up,” one source said of the proposed show. Netflix and Optomen TV did not comment on the report.