How Alison Hammond met new man after he fled Russia to avoid fighting in Ukraine
How Alison Hammond met her rumoured new love interest has been revealed. The This Morning presenter is reportedly dating Russian masseur David Putman, who is believed to be around 20 years her junior.
Alison, 49, appeared to have previously shared photographs of her and David to her Instagram Stories, and has been seen commenting on David's posts as she left a love heart eye emoji on one of his recent uploads. David, who stands at 6ft 10in, is known to have trained as a body therapist, and boasts a range of skills including "classic, lymphatic drainage, anti-cellulite, wraps, facial massage", reports the Mirror.
It was through his work that he first encountered TV star Alison, who allegedly booked in for a £150 massage last year. According to The Sun, Alison would regularly book in for massages with David in between her busy filming schedule. Having formed a friendship, soon romance blossomed and the pair reportedly began dating towards the end of 2023.
David originally hails from Krasnodar but opted to leave Russia and relocated to the UK in December 2022, the publication reports. He wanted to escape the front line following President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has a conscription army and in September 2022 declared a partial mobilisation of military reservists. Hundreds of thousands of young men have since been called up for military service.
David was able to permanently move to the UK as his father, also called David, is a British citizen. A friend of the family told The Sun: “When David was a kid his dad would spend half the year in Russia and half in England so David always had a connection to this country and wanted to get to know his family.
“When the war in Ukraine began David’s mother Olga began to worry. She didn’t want her boys dragged into it. She wanted them safe like any mother would.”
David is said to be "not bothered by fame" and would not be concerned about the 23-year age gap between him and rumoured love interest Alison. A pal told The Sun: "David is a very quiet, unassuming and thoughtful person who likes to play the guitar. He’s the strong, silent type, not a pushover, but not chatty like Alison."
They continued: "In that sense they’re perfect for each other and to David age is just a number. He’s not bothered by fame, he probably didn’t even know who Alison was when they first met."
