Former glamour model Abi Titmuss has said she is engaged and planning a family after a fresh start in the US.
Abi has moved to Hollywood, where she stars in cult US soap Days Of Our Lives, and has revealed that she has found love with co-star Ari Welkom.
She told the Daily Mirror: “It was a fresh slate. I got off the plane and God was like, ‘Get on with it, he’s here’. He’s an actor and we are very happy.
“I’m engaged to the love of my life and I’m ready to be a mum. Having children has always been really important to me.”
The actress was working as a nurse in 1999 when she met and began dating TV presenter John Leslie, which propelled her into the public eye and led to her beginning glamour modelling.
She said: “I wanted to meet somebody who didn’t know anything about me so I would know 100% in my heart this person just liked me for me and didn’t have any judgment.
“I knew when he looked at me he was seeing a complete stranger that he didn’t know anything about.”
Abi, 41, suffered from depression and contemplated suicide before starting a new life in the US three years ago.
She said: “In America I’m able to be who I really am. I had a crazy couple of years when I was modelling, I had fun and went nuts. I was in my 20s, it was all unexpected. It was a crazy three years. Before that I was me and after that I was me.
“I made those 20-something mistakes in the public eye and I did a lot of growing up. Now I know when I go into an audition over here they are not judging me except for what they see on my resume. To turn it around and to really believe in myself, that’s amazing.”
She added that she felt no pressure to have botox or plastic surgery to look younger.
Abi said: “I’m 41 but I still get cast in the 25-35 bracket. They don’t know how old I am out here. It’s great.
“I love the careers of Amy Adams and Meryl Streep, to follow in their footsteps would be incredible.”
