Jennifer Zamparelli has opened up about going “off the rails” in her 20s – following a broken engagement.
The 40-year-old shocked RTÉ 2FM listeners last week when she revealed she was engaged to the wrong person when she was just 21, which she described as “the worst decision” of her life.
Speaking to the Irish Sun about her former engagement, Jennifer said: “I met a guy when I was 18 and he was a lot older.”
“I was very influenced by him and madly in love. We ran off to Brussels together and lived there for a while.”
no repro fee
“He asked me to marry him and I thought that was it. I thought I was in love……. how wrong I was.”
“Part of the problem was being abroad and not having your brothers and sisters around to say cop on. But back then it was love for me,” she said.
The pair ended up calling it quits, but their relationship affected Jennifer for many years after.
“That relationship had a big effect on me. I went off the rails for a bit, and didn’t meet anyone for a very long time,” she continued. “I just couldn’t commit to anyone. I guess things like this are all part of growing up.”
Thankfully, Jen finally met her now-husband Lau Zamparelli in a Bristol theatre, when she directed him in a play.
“I was in my 30s when I met Lau. He was the polar opposite of the guy I’d been with, and good for me in every way,” she said.
“He was such a positive influence and I look back, and think of being engaged at 21, and just shiver about what a lucky escape I had.”
Jennifer married Lau back in 2014, and the couple share two kids together – Florence, 5, and Enzo, 2.
On this week’s episode of #GossChats – Ali Ryan chats to Aoife Walsh.
The former Miss Ireland opens up about postponing her wedding, being apart from her fiancé, and the lessons she has learned during lockdown.
#GossChats is sponsored by top Irish aesthetic clinic Haus of JeJuve.
