Musician Sam Fender met actress Rosa Collier when she was studying in London, and he’s now ‘very much in love with her’ after moving on from flings with A-list stars
With three Brit Awards under his belt and no signs of slowing down, the world is in love with Sam Fender right now.
But the Tyne and Wear native keeps his cards close to his chest when it comes to matters of his own heart, having endured a traumatic childhood that saw him mum, Shirley, leave the family home when Sam was just eight.
It was his dad Alan – a former electrician who retrained as a music teacher – who first gave Sam, 32, a guitar when he was eight. Alan later remarried and Sam’s new stepmother kicked him out of the house when he was 17, at which point he moved in with Shirley after years apart.
“I was dealing with abandonment issues. My folks split up when I was young and I lived with my dad, but then he and I stopped getting on,” he previously told the Guardian. “I was bullied in school because I had long hair and I was sensitive.
“You don’t realise these things affect you until you’re older and you don’t know why you’re walking around with a pit in your stomach or why you push partners away. When I had a girlfriend, I realised I couldn’t surrender myself to people. I didn’t feel safe in a loving relationship. I’d self sabotage to almost gain control of the situation, because that’s not the person hurting you, you’re leaving them, and it makes you feel like you’re in control of the situation. Because you have such fear of losing them.”
But for some time now, fans have been desperate to find out exactly who his girlfriend is. And last month it was finally revealed that he’s been dating actress Rosa Collier for over two years. A source told the The Sun that Rosa first met Sam in 2022 and the pair “loosely dated” before entering into a more serious relationship in 2023. Now, Sam is “very much in love” with Rosa. They added: “She works as an actress and they met when she was studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.”
“They dated loosely for a few months and then things became way more serious in 2023,” the source said. They further told the outlet that Sam and Rosa have “travelled quite a bit together” and enjoyed a “romantic holiday” to the Maldives recently.
The source suggested that the pair “seem serious,” and that the duo might be slowly breaking their silence and making their relationship public. Rosa was on tour with Sam in Europe at the time, and the musician has plenty of UK gigs lined up across summer. The insider teased that she might now be spotted showing love from the crowds, describing: “Rosa is always front and centre, supporting her man.”
Rosa, who is followed by Sam and his bandmates on a private Instagram account, has previously performed in drama school stage productions including Macbeth and Pains of Youth. Her professional theatre performances have included playing a role in Our Man in Havana. According to her performing CV, she is a grade eight pianist, and grade six tuned percussionist. On the acting side, she is said to be able to showcase a wide range of accents. And if Sam’s loyal fans get out of hand, the budding actress is also trained in hand-to-hand stage combat.
Prior to his romance with Rosa, Sam was linked to Bridgerton actress Hannah Dodd. Sam reportedly reached out to Hannah, 29, after her social media snaps caught his eye back in 2022. At the time, a source told The Sun: “Sam thinks Hannah is absolutely stunning and has been liking her pictures like crazy, which is of course very flattering for her. She has also followed him back and they are getting on very well. It’s a case of watch this space.”
The same year, Sam sparked dating rumours with singer Raye after they were seen getting close at the 2022 Brit Awards. It was claimed that the pair had been on a few dates, and after the Brits were spotted partying at Sam’s private bash at Four Quarters, in Peckham, South London, alongside all of Sam’s friends and fellow music star Olivia Rodrigo.
A source told The Sun at the time: “Sam and Raye met each other on the music scene and get on really well. It’s very early days but they’ve spent a lot of time together over the past few weeks and have been on a string of low-key, secret dates. They really respect each other and have loads in common.”
After being linked to Raye at the 2022 BRIT Awards, things between the pair appeared to cool off and Sam was soon seen liking a number of Lottie Moss’ racy Instagram snaps after the pair attended the NME Awards. It was claimed that Sam was “taken aback” by Lottie’s beauty when they crossed paths at the music awards, and OnlyFans star Lottie soon started returning the social media attention.
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