MARRIED footie star Andy Carroll is planning to propose to his girlfriend of five months, telling friends: “My divorce can’t come soon enough”.
The ex-Liverpool striker, 36, split from his estranged wife Billi Mucklow, 37, last year - weeks before revealing his new relationship.
He’s set to marry celebrity make-up artist Lou Teasdale, 42, after starting a new life together in France following his transfer to fourth-tier club Bordeaux.
A friend of the loved up couple said: "Andy is very close to proposing to Lou. They are madly in love.
“She is spending as much time as she can with him in France and Andy has never been happier.
“Lou is exactly what he needs because she is a calming influence on him and it's noticeable the change she's had on him to everyone around them.”
The Sun on Sunday revealed Andy’s turbulent two-year marriage to Billi ended in July after 11 years together.
Andy is said to be desperate to cut ties with his old life, but is getting push-back from his ex, who he shares three children with.
"He's been telling friends his divorce can’t come quick enough,” our source added.
Andy, who has two more children from a previous relationship, was once the most expensive British player of all time when he joined Liverpool from Newcastle in 2011 earning £80,000 a week.
However, he is now earning below the French minimum wage for a full-time employee, claiming it costs HIM money to play there because his salary doesn’t cover his rent.
The former £35million footballer is on just £1,190 a month after tax, according to the Daily Mail.
Andy recently opened up about the “dark sides of fame” - saying he cares more about having a “simpler life” than a high salary.
He said: “In France I live a much easier, simpler life.
“People recognise me in the street but respect me. That’s key to my happiness.
"I can go back to being Andy, the boy from the north of England. Not the Premier League star I was, if I ever was. It would be unfair to say that popularity has taken more from me than it has given me, but sometimes it’s hard to manage those situations.
"Fame has its dark sides.
“I hope to make it to 40. I have never let money be the main reason I played football. Especially not now, when it costs me more in rent than my salary."
Andy's wedding to Billi was almost called off in 2022 when he was pictured drunkenly passed out in bed with two women in Dubai on his stag do.
Billi forgave him after one of the women insisted nothing sexual happened.
Less than two years after their nuptials, the couple's marriage was over - with Andy confirming they had started divorce proceedings after "a hard few months for our family".
Weeks later, Andy made his relationship with Lou public in October for a Halloween party dressed as Taylor Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce.
Billi was reportedly left “blindsided” by him dating Lou - a former stylist for pop star Harry Styles and the rest of One Direction - so soon after their separation.
The couple are selling their £8.5million house, previously owned by Sir Rod Stewart, after doubling its value in five years.
Billi was furious after catching Andy on CCTV sneaking back unannounced after he moved out of the house, which is set in 25 acres and boasts a pool, tennis court, boating lake and football pitch.
