Troubled footballer Paul Gascoigne has a new love in his life who, friends hope, may save him in his battle against alcohol.
The
47-year-old was seen near his home in Poole, Dorset, with Mandy Thomas,
a public services worker who was reportedly by his side while he
recovered in hospital following a recent relapse.
Ms
Thomas, who is separated from her husband and has two children, is
'besotted' with the star with whom she has become 'inseparable'.
The footballer was seen walking arm-in-arm with Mandy Thomas, 44, rumoured to be his new girlfriend
Friends close to the former England star say Ms Thomas could help him 'save him from himself'
The 44-year-old from Bournemouth was seen walking hand-in-hand with Gascoigne this week on the beach in Sandbanks, Dorset.
'She is the best thing that has happened to him for a long time,' a friend close to the couple told The Sun.
'People are hoping she could be the woman who saves him from himself.
'She has been spending a lot of time with him and they have become virtually inseparable.'
Gascoigne, who split from his wife Sheryl in 1999, has been single for two years.
Ms Thomas
is separated and has two adult children. Friends described her as 'the
best thing that has happened' to the footballer for a 'long time'
Tender moment: The couple were seen in a warm embrace as they got out of the car in Dorset
Gascoigne recently moved in to a new home in Poole, Dorset, and has been enjoying a healthier lifestyle
Together they had a son, Regan, and the footballer adopted her two children from a previous marriage.
Following
their divorce, the mother-of-three told of his alleged abusive
tendencies in a biography, Stronger: My Life Surviving Gazza.
Gascoigne divorced his wife Sheryl (pictured) in 1999
In 1999 Sheryl was reportedly granted a lump sum of £660,000 and promised yearly cash installments.
As
her former husband fell further into the pits of alcoholism however,
the former model claims she began giving him financial help.
In a 2010 interview she described his desperate lifestyle, saying: '‘I always wanted to be the one to fix it.
'If ever he was going to get well, I wanted to be the one there, not someone else.’
His
last known girlfriend was model Kelly Windsor. The couple met on a
dating website and began seeing each other in Bournemouth.
He previously spoke of his finding it difficult to meet women given his high-profile past.
'I’ve
got someone’s number, they’ve asked what’s your name, I say Paul
Gascoigne. I wait, and I know what they’re gonna do – they’re gonna
google it,' he told the Daily Mirror.
'Then I get, "You mean the footballer Paul Gascoigne?" Then it’s, "Sorry, the date’s off." '
Earlier
this month the star was pictured in the garden of his new home looking
healthy and happy, weeks after photographs emerged showing him looking
frail and clutching a bottle of gin.
Reports circled that Gascoigne, a former England footballer, had been evicted from his luxury flat in Sandbanks in September.
He has been enjoying a healthier lifestyle since, having been pictured on angling trips near his home on numerous occasions.
In
the summer the star was photographed clutching a chicken in a pub beer
garden and being turned away from an off-licence in Poole.
Mr Gascoigne walked along the beach
alone at one point during their excursion, stopping to speak with
friendly locals enjoying the autumn weather
The former footballer stopped to speak to a man with a dog as a child played with a bucket and spade nearby
Gascoigne greets a swimmer on the beach as he made one of his first public outings with Ms Thomas
The star is known to many people in Dorset since moving to the exclusive Sandbanks area which he left last month
Gascoigne, who has battled with alcohol for decades, took a moment to look out at the sea on the warm day
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