IT was a tale of two couples on the famous I’m a Celebrity bridge this week.
Mike Tindall, 44, was all smiles as he reunited with his royal wife Zara after coming fourth on the ITV show, squeezing her in a loving embrace.
Matt Hancock and Gina Coladangelo reunited on Sunday evening
Mike Tindall was joined by Zara after being evicted on Saturday night
While third-placed Matt Hancock, 44, caused a stir the following night as he put on an passionate display with his partner Gina, with the couple said to look like a pair of “loved-up teens” at an afterparty.
Mike and Zara have been married since 2011, while Matt and Gina’s affair was revealed last year in bombshell CCTV images that showed the former Health Secretary breaking Covid protocols.
Body language Judi James says the contrast between the two couples couldn’t be more different.
She explains: “The natural-looking, long-term married couple’s hug of authentic passion contrasts against the awkward-teenager sexual signals of a couple that still look locked in a time-warp of that infamous grope at work.”
Here, Judi gives her verdict on Mike and Matt’s very contrasting displays as they left I’m a Celebrity.
Mike and Zara
Body language expert Judi James says Mike and Zara hugged and kissed as though no one was looking
Judi says: “When Mike was reunited with Zara on the jungle bridge they hugged and kissed as though no one was looking – a couple lost in the moment as they locked bodies for the most natural hug ever.
“Their embrace was clearly part of their normal greeting, with some extra signals to allow for what seems to have been a painful separation.
“Zara bent to one side and Mike to the other as they raised their arms at a diagonal to fit together like jigsaw pieces, with symmetry and perfect choreography.
“They also put their desire to communicate above their need to kiss. Mike crushed his face into Zara’s neck, groaning and telling her how much he had missed her and asking if she was alright.
“The couple even used a second gear when it came to intensifying their already close hug. Couples hugging to be polite will normally pat and break after a few seconds, but Mike raised his arms higher to hug harder as though he never wanted to let Zara go again.
“This was a passionate and deeply affectionate ritual from a couple known for their spontaneous and constant PDAs that seem to make them look mutually besotted.”
Matt and Gina
Judi says Matt and Gina’s relationship seems to have barely changed since last year
Judi says: “This couple hugged with a disregard for anyone who was looking.
“Matt’s mantra excuse of ‘I fell in love’ needed visual clarification as a sound-bite.
“But then – like a man who has no real reference point for producing the kind of body language that might a) not upset family at home or b) show a change or maturity from a relationship that had morphed from furtive to out in the open – Matt seemed to reproduce the iconic pose that got him in hot water in the first place.
“His upper hand pressed into Gina’s back to create upper torso closeness, while that left hand had clearly not learned its lesson and appeared to be making its way down to Gina’s bum again.
“This was an awkward hug with the focus on the sexual signalling, rather than one that is mindful of others and that ‘lessons have been learned’ to steer well away from previous bad looks.
“It lacked mutual synchronicity and ease of bodies fitting together and they made it look as though their relationship had barely grown from their CCTV days.”
