"Is it any wonder I reject you first?
Fame, fame, fame, fame"
Bowie
From here the story starts to get complicated. However, thanks to the sterling work of the Mushers, it is possible to piece together the real version of events, as opposed to the one Jodie would like to have us believe.
Monday 27th November 2006.
Jodie's blog announces "I'm ENGAGED!!!!!!!!" And she is head over heels in love with her fiancé, describing him in uber-glowing terms.
3rd December 2006.
Dave's ex Aleisha gives her version of events to the News of the World. To the amazement of absolutely nobody it appears that, actually, Dave was not single when Jodie set her sights on him. Indeed, not only was he still with Aleisha, his girlfriend of four years, they were engaged with a Thailand wedding planned for just two months later. As one might imagine, being publicly dumped so close to her wedding was devastating for the poor girl, who was left hurt, humiliated and angry, and with a wedding dress that she now had no use for.
4th December 2006.
The day after Aleisha's story runs, Jodie rages furiously against Dave's ex in her blog. It's a truly vicious attack, shocking even by Jodie's standards. Remember, this is the girl who has been left broken-hearted, because her fiancé has just announced his engagement to another woman. Aside from denying that Aleisha and Dave were a couple when Jodie began her pursuit of him (even though Aleisha's story is confirmed by Jodie's own blogs) Jodie claims that Aleisha smashed up Dave's flat and stole his clothes and passport. And the character assassination doesn't stop there - she goes on to relate that Aleisha herself broke off her existing relationship when she met Dave and, as if that wasn't already enough to allow Jodie to justify her own behaviour, she throws in a final 'fact' about Aleisha's ex: namely that, at the time of the break-up, he had leukaemia which went on to kill him.
Of course, we only have Jodie's word for all of this but, if Aleisha really did smash up Dave's flat and steal his clothes (and this is disputed by her) I think most of us would have some sympathy for the girl. Her life has just been turned upside-down, her future plans shattered; her anger would be pretty understandable. As for the comments about Aleisha's ex-boyfriend's illness and death (and there are real doubts about the truth of Jodie's allegations - the man in question was certainly alive and well and posting on the Friends Reunited website, some time after Aleisha and Dave were together) it's hard to imagine that anyone would go so low as to use that as a weapon. To use it as a weapon to attack someone that you yourself have wronged, simply beggars belief. Jodie's complete absence of compassion however, makes this just another chapter in her spiteful, bullying life.
9th December 2006.
A MySpace message appears from Jodie to her friend Freddy (who she refers to in her blogs as FitBod). For once, she actually has a job that requires more of her than just turning up in her underwear and drinking free vodka. She is to be the presenter of a new TV show, and is filming over several weeks. Her message witters on about how hard she's working, telling Freddy "Poor Dave is sitting here every night on his own trying to stop the dogs and cat fighting!"
12th December 2006.
The first hint that all is not perfect appears in her blog. Though Jodie claims it is just the stress of working that is creating problems.
Jodie on the bar with her pants coming down.
14th December 2006.
Jodie blogs about being sexually frustrated of late, saying "I am thinking about sex non-stop and talking about it. It's such a terrible shame that by the time I get home all my energy is zapped because otherwise Dave would be having the time of his life right now!!!" Now, Dave is apparently the love of her life, her soulmate, the man she wants to marry and have a family with. Though she is, undoubtedly, quite busy, she and Dave are in the first throes of this epic love story. For someone who constantly talks about how highly sexed she is and how much she needs sex, you have to wonder - tired or not - how she manages to keep her hands off him. Particularly as she has previously blogged about how amazing the sex between them is, even revealing that Dave is extremely well endowed.
20th December 2006.
Jodie writes a long, rambling blog, her first for a few days. She writes about having finished filming; the wrap party she was at until 6.30am; going to Topshop; wrapping gifts; shopping with friends... Dave gets one tiny mention when she says "Tuesday I got up, went to get food with Jord and Kyle, popped in to see Carolina and then came home to meet Dave at mine." Which sounds like Dave is no longer resident at her place. The blog goes on - "I came home to meet my cleaners with the intention of getting my dressing room spotless. Tomorrow I have a really big photo shoot at home [for OK magazine] and need the house to look amazing."
She then lists all the things she has to look forward to: her birthday, Christmas, New Year's Eve, going to see a friend in Australia in January... And yet, throughout her long excited list of upcoming treats, there is not one single word about Dave. Nor does she, at any point, use the word 'we'. Although, in recent months, she has blogged repeatedly about wanting a boyfriend to take to Barbados after Christmas (she had even offered to take dancer Ben during her infatuation with him) this is not mentioned, despite the fact that she has, not just a boyfriend, but a fiancé to share the Caribbean sun with. She ends with a bizarre quote "Girls are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of the tree. The boys don't want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they get the rotten apples from the ground that aren't as good, but easy. So the apples up top think there is something wrong with them when in reality they're amazing. They just have to wait for the right boy to come along, the one who's brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree....... x" - so so true!!!!!!!!! More true than any quote before in fact! Jeez men are wimps!" It's certainly an odd thing for a happily loved-up, newly engaged woman to write!
23rd December 2006.
Jodie writes a blog where she claims to be drunk entitled "someday id december - the day b4 my birthday - I'm drunk!!!!!!!!" It seems odd that she doesn't know the date, given that it's the day before her birthday but, aside from that, Dave is again conspicuous by his absence. In fact, Jodie is talking (one presumes jokingly) about waiting ten years so she can marry the 8 year old brother of a friend. She's been clubbing, dancing on people's shoulders, drinking and generally getting into the birthday spirit. And, she tells us, it's only the beginning. She's getting right into the party spirit, although, apparently, without the love of her life.
27th December 2006.
Jodie leaves a MySpace message for her friend Freddy. "me and russ and tony and sarah are drunk. hellooooooo fit bod! russ is massaging my shoulders & i tried to pull 16 year old (maybe). we have just eaten pizza bagels and the pussy is crying. i don't like cats but i love you! x x xx x" Why on earth would someone who has just met the love of her life be trying to 'pull a sixteen year old'? (Incidentally, Jodie is often drawn to extremely young men and enjoys 'perving over fit 18 year olds' and snogging schoolboys). And committed 'animal lover' Jodie seems pretty hostile towards her fiancé's cat, doesn't she?
At this point, the Mush rumour-mill goes into overdrive. Seasoned blog-watchers have seen the signs before and are now fairly certain that her relationship with Dave is on its last legs, if not completely over. A number of people message Jodie and Dave, via their MySpace pages, asking if they have split up. That night a new blog appears.
Jodie talks about her '7 day bender'. She mentions Dave several times as being amongst the group she has been partying and having fun with, though she does say later "I was woken up by my dad calling me at 8am Christmas morning and Jordan came to pick me up 5 minutes later. We then had all the usual present-opening and champagne breakfast and then I shot home to get showered & changed & pick Dave up from his house." There's a visit to see Dave's family then she goes back alone to stay at her parent's house. Boxing day is spent with her own family then, that night, she goes out with her girlfriends and one of them, Sarah, stays with her that night.
Again, something here is not ringing true. At the start of a love affair, newly engaged, and at a special time of year (Jodie's birthday and Christmas) wouldn't most people be desperate to have some time alone together? Not only has Dave barely featured in her partying, even when he does feature there are anything up to 20 of Jodie's 'best mates' in tow as well.
According to Dave (it will later transpire) he dumps Jodie around this point - somewhere between the 28th and 31st December.