David Hasselhoff has opened his heart about Welsh girlfriend Hayley Roberts, describing the former shop assistant as “proof that Britain really does have talent”.
The Hoff, 59, has been dating the 31-year-old for the past six months after meeting her in a Cardiff hotel and despite the 28-year age gap their relationship is still going strong.
Britain’s Got Talent judge Mr Hasselhoff told The Sunday Mirror: “I was walking into the St David’s Hotel in Cardiff when we were in Wales for Britain’s Got Talent and she came up and asked for a photograph.
“I just saw this girl walk out the bar and I just pointed and went, ‘her, wow’.
“Hayley’s opening line was, ‘Can I have a photo?’ And mine was, ‘Only if I can have your number.’ I then said: ‘You probably have a boyfriend’. And when she said no, that was a done deal.”
Ms Roberts, 31, who lives with her mother and father in the village of Glynneath, near Merthyr Tydfil, has taken a sabbatical from her £5.90 an hour job at Debenhams to follow her celebrity lover around the globe.
Father-of-two Mr Hasselhoff, who divorced wife Pamela Bach in 2006, said: “I’ve been able to take my beautiful girlfriend out of a retail store where she’s making £5.90 an hour.
“Now she doesn’t have to worry. I say look, ‘You’re a beautiful girl, follow what God gave you’ and I’m giving her the confidence and have somebody to share my life with.”
The American actor, who appeared in cult television programmes Knight Rider and Baywatch, revealed he regularly travels to the Valleys from London and “loves” the Welsh people. Talking about his girlfriend, he added: “She has an aura that’s unreal. She’s so down to earth. Right from when she came to BGT the day after we met.
“I remember after the show we went to an Indian restaurant and it was closed but they opened up late when they knew it was me.
“During that dinner she said, ‘who did you play on Baywatch?’ And that was when I knew it was the real deal. She liked me for me, not because I was on TV.”
Mr Hasselhoff also refused to rule out the idea of marriage with the Welsh beauty, but said he was not looking to get hitched in the foreseeable future.
“I believe you should only marry people if you can’t live without them,” he said
“If you can live with them, live with them. Right now with Hayley things are getting better in every way.
“I’ve thought about the age gap and it doesn’t bother me or Hayley I hope.”