Zoe Ball reveals she’s had to donate her old bras after ‘losing some weight’ as she opens up on unlikely domestic woes with her new live-in mystery man

Zoe Ball has revealed she had to ditch her old bras after ‘losing some weight’ as she shared insight into her domestic set-up with her new mystery man.

The radio presenter, 55, shared back in November that she’d moved a mystery man into her home, and has been referring to him on her show as ‘The Lodger.’

Now, Zoe has revealed that she briefly clashed with her new man after he accidentally shrunk one of her cashmere jumpers.

It comes after she stepped away from her BBC Radio 2 show at the end of last year, just seven months after taking over the weekend slot.

Speaking to Jo Whiley on their Dig It podcast, Zoe shared that she’s donated some of her old underwear to a bra bank due to her recent weight loss.

She said: ‘ I need to clear my bra drawer out because I lost some weight, which has been brilliant. No one can really tell but all my bras don’t fit anymore. And so we need to get rid of loads of the other ones.

‘There’s loads of really good bra banks where you can take your bras as well. Oh, I didn’t know. So I need to find out where my local bra bank is.

‘Because obviously, you know, they’re a good bit of engineering and they’re in quite good nick. Not the grey ones and the ones that have been through a bad wash. But I’ve got quite a few nice ones. 

‘But I need to get rid of all the bras that have taken up the drawer space that don’t fit. And just put in two or three ones that fit nicely.’

‘The ones I put on, and I don’t even make it halfway through the day because they’re so itchy behind. It’s like, ”Oh, God, this is so uncomfortable.”

Zoe then shared insight into her new living arrangements with her mystery man, who she has nicknamed ‘The Lodger.’

She said: ‘The lodger accidentally shrunk my cashmere polo neck jumper, might have to replace it.’

‘How did I react? Well, there’s that thing where I think, ”Oh, don’t say anything”. But then I thought, ”Well, no, I need to say something because then he won’t do it again.” And it’s not his fault.

‘It was in, but I had deliberately thrown my jumper on the floor because I was going to wear it the next day. 

‘And I think he just scooped up all the washing. How lovely of him to do the washing. I should be really grateful. Yeah, how thoughtful. And he just shoved it all in.

‘But I did sort of make a point of hanging it on the radiator. My mate Em always gets all my junk and jumpers. But I think this is like beyond. 

‘It would fit a teddy bear. I think it would only fit a pet.’ I said to him ”No, it’s fine. It’s fine”. But I did feel really bad. I thought, don’t make him feel really guilty about it. But I just rediscovered it.’

While Zoe has mentioned a mystery man, it is not yet known the status of their relationship. Her last public relationship was with construction worker Michael Reed, which ended in 2023. 

The presenter recently opened up about her ‘lover’ on her podcast, saying: ‘Sniffing pits is sexy though.

‘I’ve often had this thing, when I’ve been sort of dating someone, I love smelling their armpits.’

‘I know it sounds weird, but if you love someone, you’ve got to love all their smells, not necessarily their bathroom smells. I draw a line at that. But there’s something about armpit smells that I think are really sexy.’ 

She continued: ‘My favourite thing to often do is sometimes, especially if I’ve not seen my lover for a while, is when they’ve got their arms around you, I’m like sniffing in the armpits, and I get a right old look. I’m like, I like that smell. It’s a good smell.

‘Do you remember doing that thing when you were dating someone, you were young, borrowing their clothes? 

‘I know my kids borrow their partner’s clothes to keep them because they smell of them, which is really lovely.

‘I have a thing that if my partner goes away, I don’t like to wash the bed until they get back. A, because I’m worried they might not come back, and B, I love the smell. I love the smell of them on the pillows.

‘I really love that. I remember also being a teenager and spraying Kuros or whatever it was, Paco Rabanne. I love the smells. That is always a sign. 

‘If you go off someone, you know you’ve gone off them if they suddenly, the smells you used to love about them starts to smell a bit funky. You’re like, nah, it’s gone.

‘It’s gone because you got to love all their smells.’

Zoe previously revealed she had moved a mystery man into her home and that he has ‘more awards than her’.

She said: ‘I think I got a Sony for turning up, which is very nice.

‘No, I did get a Sony and it was given to me by Marianne Faithfull. I was well chuffed, really chuffed. And I think Caner of the Year for something I can’t remember.

‘We won a BAFTA for the last ever Live and Kicking, which was amazing. But I don’t even have a copy of it. 

‘I need to get one and put it on the… Yeah, the lodger has won loads of awards…. I need to up my…’

Jo added: ‘Well, you need to get these awards (lodger) and put them on behind you now on the mantelpieces around you. Steal them. That’s fine.’

Zoe joked: ‘Yeah. Maybe I’ll just stop making myself some.’

In December, Zoe announced she was quitting her BBC Radio 2 show after just seven months, with Emma Willis taking over her slot.

Announcing her exit she said: ‘I have loved being betwixt my dear friends [and fellow presenters] Romesh [Ranganathan] and Rylan, and you know, I love you all to bits, but I’m not disappearing completely’.

‘Obviously, it’ll be Christmas Crooners and I’m doing an Eras show in the New Year, more on that later. I am thrilled to tell you that you will be in the safest of hands, because there is a super woman who is no stranger to you all, but this does mean that she will officially become a member of the Radio 2 family.’

In an official statement Zoe said: ‘Spending Saturday lunchtimes with the Radio 2 gang has been an absolute hoot, the listeners, the stories, and of course my weekly giggles with Romesh and Rylan’.