Former Olympian James Cracknell announces engagement to Jordan Connell

James Cracknell and Jordan Connell
(Image credit: Getty Images / Karwai Tang / Contributor)

James Cracknell has announced his engagement to American Financier Jordan Connell.

We've seen a lot of secret weddings and surprise engagements over the last few months.

Oliver Proudlock secretly married Emma Connelly and Laura Whitmore and Iain Sterling tied the knot in a super private wedding.

Now James Cracknell, The double Olympic gold medallist, and six-time world champion has announced his plans to wed Jordan Connell. 

An announcement was made in The Times, reading, 'Mr J.E Cracknell and Miss J.R.D Connell. The engagement is announced between Mr James Edward Cracknell, OBE, son of Mr and Mrs John Cracknell of London, and Jordan Rebekah Davis Connell, daughter of the late Mr Barry Connell and of Mrs Rosemarie Connell, of New York City.'

Where did James Cracknell meet Jordan Connell?

James and Jordan met while studying at Cambridge University in 2018. Cracknell returned to college as a mature student and did a masters in human evolution. Jordan studied for an MBA, they started dating when they had finished their degrees.

They have been dating for 17 months and have been living together since the coronavirus lockdowns began. 

The Olympic Rower has shared posts on Instagram of the couple, affectionately calling Jordan “my American.” 

A photo posted by on

In an interview with The Daily Mail, Jordan said about the Strictly Star, “James does have an amazing personality. He's funny and kind.”

She continued, "It's the little things he does like going out to track down a bar of Hershey's chocolate for me, which is special because it's so hard to find in the UK.”

The news comes two years after Cracknell finalised his divorce from Beverly Turner. The couple had been married for 17 years and share three children.

The divorce followed Cracknell’s brain injury and recovery after he was knocked off his bike by a lorry in Arizona in 2010.

As a result of the accident, he was placed in a medically induced coma and suffered a brain injury. He now suffers from epilepsy, memory loss, and reduced vocabulary, he started to rebuild his life in 2015. 

As a result of the accident, he is left with permanent changes to his speech, personality, and temperament. 

Naomi Jamieson
Lifestyle News Writer

Naomi is a Lifestyle News Writer with the Lifestyle team and has recently earned her Gold Standard Diploma in Journalism from the NCTJ. She has a background in design, having studied Illustration at Plymouth University but has taken a leap into the world of journalism after always having a passion for writing. She currently writes pieces on beauty, fashion, and entertainment for Goodto.com and My Imperfect Life.