Rachael Jones is vying for the heart of a down to earth country bloke on the upcoming season of Australian reality show, Farmer Wants A Wife.
But the 42-year-old journalist has one very recognisable ex – none other than Hollywood superstar Keanu Reeves, 55.
British-born Rachael had a three-week fling with Keanu when he was in Sydney, Australia, filming sequels to The Matrix in 2001.
Famous ex: Rachael Jones (pictured) is vying for the heart of a down to earth country bloke on the upcoming season of Australian reality show, Farmer Wants A Wife. But the 42-year-old journalist has a very recognisable ex
At the time, she was a backpacker, and was introduced to Keanu through a friend who knew his Matrix co-star, Laurence Fishburne, 58.
She told The Daily Mail at the time: ‘I wasn’t planning to go out that night but a friend persuaded me. I threw on an old denim dress and didn’t even have time to dry my hair or put on makeup.
‘During the evening he just walked up to me and said: “Hi, I’m Keanu”.
What a man! She dated Hollywood superstar Keanu Reeves, 55. Pictured in 2020
Fling: British-born Rachael had a three week fling with Keanu when he was in Sydney, Australia, filming sequels to The Matrix in 2001 (pictured)
‘I blurted out: “Hi, I’m Rachael and I’m just going to the loo”,’ and immediately felt embarrassed at saying something so banal, but he just laughed.’
‘I kept trying to include my friend in our conversation, but I soon realised he was keen to talk to me,’ she continued.
‘Of course, I knew who he was and there was a lot of chemistry between us. But I wasn’t thinking this was my big chance to make a play for him.
‘It simply seemed too far-fetched that anything might happen between us. It was amazing enough to think that I had even met him.’
Wow! The pair met at a pub, through a friend, when the Hull-based radio presenter was backpacking in Sydney. They went back to her flat, where the superstar kissed her, before they spent the night together
She told The Daily Mail at the time: ‘It was then that he kissed me and I can remember thinking: ‘My God, this can’t be happening.’ It was very tender and sweet between us’. Pictured in 2003
The pair went to Rachael’s flat together, where the star kissed her.
‘It was then that he kissed me and I can remember thinking: ‘My God, this can’t be happening.’ It was very tender and sweet between us.
‘Soon it was so late that I could hardly keep my eyes open, but instead of going back to his hotel, Keanu asked if he could stay the night and we both just fell into my bed.’
She is quoted by Woman’s Day as having said at the time: ‘Is Keanu good in bed? Is the Pope a Catholic?’
The pair were spotted together around Sydney at the time, with Keanu seen outside the Hull radio presenter’s Bondi home, waiting 20 minutes for her to get ready.
She is quoted by Woman’s Day as having said at the time: ‘Is Keanu good in bed? Is the Pope a Catholic?’
They then took a motorbike ride to Sydney’s hip Paddington, where they had dinner together.
The fling lasted just three weeks before Rachael returned to Yorkshire, where she worked as a radio presenter, when her visa was up.
‘The relationship I’ve had with Keanu sounds blissful,’ she told The Daily Mail at the time.
‘But the reality is it could never have been anything more than a fling. People like me just don’t live that sort of life permanently.
‘If only he had been a normal person, I think our relationship would have stood a chance, as there was something really special between us. But he lives in another world and it’s not one I can join him in.
What a tale: The fling lasted just three weeks before Rachael returned to Yorkshire, where she worked as a radio presenter, when her visa was up. She has since returned to Sydney and works as a finance journalist. Pictured recently
‘We left on good terms,’ she added. ‘Keanu said he’d stay in touch and told me he thought we’d had a great time together.’
She also told Hello magazine of the affair the following year: ‘Going out with Keanu was fun, but no big deal.’
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Rachael Jones and Keanu Reeves for comment.
Rachael, who is now based in Sydney’s Darlinghurst and works as a finance news journalist, will try to win the love of Farmer Nick on the upcoming season of Farmer Wants A Wife.
New man? Rachael will try to win the love of Farmer Nick (pictured) on the upcoming season of Farmer Wants A Wife