Ricky Hatton shares update on unlikely romance with Coronation Street star after five months: 'I always knew'
Ricky and Claire have been together for five months
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Ricky Hatton, 45, has given an update on his whirlwind relationship with Coronation Street star Claire Sweeney, 53, and admitted that he "always knew" they would end up together.
Rumours of their romance first began to swirl back in April after the pair were spotted enjoying a pub crawl in Hatton’s home city of Manchester and were said to have had "electric chemistry".
Friends of the couple also spoke about how fast they were taking the relationship, with one telling the MailOnline: "They are also discussing possibly going on holiday together to Tenerife the Summer which will see their relationship go to the next level."
Hatton has been open about his relationship with Sweeney, and penned a sweet tribute to her on her birthday, posting on Instagram: "Happy Birthday Claire! Have the best day gorgeous. Lots of love, Ricky."
Sweeney quickly responded and commented: "Thank you darling." (sic)
The 45-year-old has since given an update on their romance and discussed how he knew Sweeney for 25 years before they realised there were feelings to explore.
Ricky gave an update on their whirlwind romance
Speaking to Prime Casino, Ricky said: "I didn't go on Dancing on Ice to find romance, I just went in hoping I wouldn't break my f*****g neck.
"I've known Claire for a while. I've met her at a few functions and at different events over the years. Every time we've spoken we've hit it off and got on with each other.
"We ended up both training in Altrincham, Claire's on Coronation Street and she's from Liverpool, so we used to train at the same time together.
"We got on straight away while we were training for the ice skating. And then when we travelled down to London where the show actually took place we got on even better."
Ricky and Claire met during their time on Dancing on Ice
Ricky said he knew he had "half a chance" at wooing Claire because they had got on so well when he had spoken to her in the past.
"I always knew when I turned up and saw she was going on the ice that she was single and I knew I was single. I knew how we had got on so well every time we met each other.
"I probably thought I had half a chance."
He added: "It's amazing [to find] someone you’ve probably known for 25 years. I've been in relationships and she's been in relationships. I've had my kids and she's had her kids. And then 25 years later we found each other. It's quite a nice story."
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Ricky and Claire knew one another for 25 years before getting together
Sweeney also showcases her relationship with Hatton and recently posted a series of images on her Instagram of their holiday in Majorca.
She captioned the images: "Lovely weekend in Majorca with @rickyhitmanhatton." (sic)