Pro boxer Anthony Joshua has been famously private about his dating life.
The former two-time heavyweight champion is known to have had a baby, Joseph “JJ” Joshua, in 2015 with dance teacher Nicole Osbourne, but he has never actually been photographed in public with the mother of his son.
“I’ve had girlfriends,” Joshua did confirm to documentarian Louis Theroux in 2023. “I could meet them in the local supermarket or at the petrol station, anywhere.”
While Joshua often refrains from commenting on his dating life, he has been linked to stars such as Bella Hadid, Cara Delevingne and Love Island Games host Maya Jama throughout his accomplished boxing career.
Keep scrolling for more information on the boxing champion’s love life.
Nicole Osbourne
Hello Magazine reported that Anthony Joshua met dance teacher Nicole Osbourne while he was at school in Watford. The pair had an on-off relationship and welcomed their son, Joseph “JJ” Joshua, in 2015 at Watford General Hospital in October 2015, according to The Daily Mail.
Joshua did not actually reveal his son’s birth until April 2016 following his boxing victory over rival Charles Martin at the O2 Arena in London.
“Achieved one of my goals as a professional boxer! Now the dust has settled it’s time to relax with my lil champ JJ,” Joshua tweeted alongside a photo of his son.
Joshua split from Osbourne around the time of their son’s arrival, but Hello revealed that all three did live together for a time in Finchley, North London.
Joshua told GQ in 2018 that he does not want his son to become a boxer when he grows up.
“It’s too hard. It’s a dangerous sport,” he warned. “I want my son to be the best man that he can be, but I don’t want him to be compared to me. You’re not going to be a boxing star without going through heaps of pain.”
The pro boxer added, “Life is not a highlight reel. A career is not a highlight reel. People see the glamour, the winning. Nobody’s interested in the knocks and bruises, the bad eye, the struggle. My son has the bloodline for it, there’s no doubt about that.”
Ahead of his fight against Jake Paul in December 2025, Anthony offered rare insight on parenting young JJ.
“I don’t really take boxing home, if I’m honest with you,” he said at a press conference. “[JJ] hasn’t spoken about the fight. I haven’t actually spoken to him about the fight. I talk to him about maths, the purpose of life. I talk to him about confidence but I don’t really talk to him much about my career.”
Anthony went on, “I’m sure he knows. He likes gaming but it’s not a conversation he brings up. And [he] never brought [it] up! He knows what I do way before Jake Paul. And even now [that] I’m fighting Jake Paul, he hasn’t brought it up in conversation. I’ve never taken boxing past the front door, if I’m honest.”
Faryal Makhdoom
Pro boxer Amir Khan publicly accused his wife, Faryal Makhdoom Khan, of having an affair with Joshua when he tweeted in 2017: “Left my family and friends for this Faryal. I’m not hurt but another fighter. I’m making it public. You getting the divorce #golddigger.”
Joshua told BBC News that he’d “never even met” Faryal and denied having any relationship with her. Amir eventually recanted his allegations in August 2017 by tweeting that they were “all lies” and that there was “no truth” to any of it.
“Apology accepted,” Joshua replied.
During a September 2022 interview with Gary Neville on The Overlap, Amir admitted that he’d ruined his friendship with Joshua over the 2017 accusations.
“I had the problem with Anthony Joshua which I feel really bad for because at the end of the day I put him in the firing line for no reason,” Amir conceded. “I mean he was a friend of mine and since then we’ve never spoken. So I lost a good friend through that as well.”
However, Amir mended fences with Joshua in recent years. Amir and Faryal split in 2018 but eventually reconciled.
Maya Jama
Fans speculated that Anthony Joshua was dating British TV host and model Maya Jama after she posted a selfie of them together in August 2019.
The dating rumor seemed to ruffle feathers with Jama’s on-off boyfriend Stormzy. Many felt that the Brit Award-winning rapper’s taunting tweet that same month was a direct response to social media speculation.
“You lot think you’re f***ing funny yeah,” he complained alongside a photo of himself in boxing gear.
Joshua tried to clear things up at a New York City press conference in September 2019 ahead of his rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr. at Diriyah Arena in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
“So I took a little picture with one of my friends’, a musician, his ex, in the gym and it gets blown out of proportion. Like, ‘Ohhhh, what’s he doing with her?,’ but we were just working on a shoot,” he clarified.
Joshua confirmed that he reached out to Stormzy directly to set the record straight.
“Me and him spoke and I said, ‘It’s the bloggers’ job to blog, it’s the social media guy’s job to make good social content, it’s the internet guy’s job to make clickbait,’” the boxer said. “So people take it how they want.”
Vick Hope
British radio host Vick Hope shared a selfie with Anthony Joshua in 2020 and he reportedly later told The Sun that they’d gone on some dates.
Asked by the publication to respond to Joshua’s claims, Hope playfully replied, “He did not say that … No, he didn’t!”
Any connection must have been short-lived because Hope married DJ and producer Calvin Harris in September 2023. The couple announced in August 2025 that they’d welcomed their first baby.
Laura Woods
Anthony Joshua flirted with U.K. sports reporter Laura Woods in numerous interviews over the years, though things got more serious in a 2023 segment.
“Who’s your dream date?” she asked, with Joshua quickly replying: “You!”
Woods cheered at Joshua’s answer before they both started giggling. Joshua then asked Woods if she was seeing anyone.
“I’m not in a relationship,” Woods confirmed.
After Joshua disclosed that he too was single, Woods admitted that she was “too focused on work” to commit to anyone.
“We’ve got so much in common,” Woods jokingly told Joshua.
While the chemistry was undeniable, it appears that Woods and Joshua never seriously dated. Woods got engaged to Love Island U.K. star Adam Collard in September 2024.
Cara Delevingne and Bella Hadid
Anthony Joshua was linked to models Cara Delevingne and Bella Hadid after being photographed with them at public events in recent years. However, the athlete shot down speculation when documentarian Louis Theroux brought up Delevingne and Hadid on his BBC Two show in November 2023.
“I haven’t actually been with any of those girls, by the way,” Joshua insisted.
