BBC presenter Alex Scott has opened up on her relationship with popstar Jess Glynne, admitting she is "happy and in love" and wants to have children. The 40-year-old former Arsenal star made her relationship with the singer official last year, following months of speculation that they were an item. After being spotted attending parties and award ceremonies together, both women looked to keep things under wraps, with Glynne refusing to confirm their relationship, but they were later seen sharing a kiss together while out in London. Scott played for the Gunners nearly 150 times in her career, as well as representing Birmingham City and the Boston Breakers, winning a huge 140 caps for England and representing Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics. Since hanging up her boots, she has forged a successful career in broadcasting, fronting shows including Final Score, Match of the Day and the One Show as well as appearing on Strictly Come Dancing in 2019. Glynne, meanwhile, is the first and only British female artist to achieve seven UK Number 1 singles, with her hit songs including ' Rather Be', 'Hold My Hand', 'I'll Be There' and 'Not Letting Go'. Scott recently took to social media to share several loved-up photos of her and Glynne which showed them posing together in a box at Wembley Stadium and escaping on a romantic weekend away near Bournemouth. In an interview with The Big Issue , the former footballer gave a further insight into her relationship as she admitted she had "done the work on [her]self to allow someone in" and "accept love". She explained: “I always felt I was troubled and complex and wouldn’t let anyone in. I was fearful of hurting them. “Everyone sees me now and comments on how happy I am – in love and life, and it’s because I’ve done the work on myself to allow someone in. I’d tell my younger self to be more open and accepting to love. Revealing her hopes for children, Scottt added: “There’s still so much more to fight for to help that next generation – and I feel like I am in a position to use my platform so that, in the future where hopefully I have kids, they won’t have to fight like I’ve had to in my life. Then they can just go out and live life full of joy.” “It’s helped me develop into the person I am now, which is happy within myself, and allowed me to be free. I’m in a very good place now. I’m in love and I’m happy.” It hasn't always been easy for Scott, who has alleged that her "stupidly cruel" dad Tony physically and mentally abused her family during her childhood and banned them from showing emotion. Tony has denied the allegations, but the ex-Arsenal star claims that her experiences had a "huge impact" and led her to struggle with showing her emotions, even towards Glynne. “We weren’t allowed to express emotion," she told The Times last year. “Dad didn’t allow us to hug each other or say ‘I love you’. It had a huge impact on us all. To this day, if I want to show people love, I’ll do it by taking them out to dinner and paying.” “I remember one of the first times Jess hugged me. I was like… [rigid]," Scott added. “She was like, ‘Are you not going to put your arms around me?’ But I didn’t know how to do that. We laugh about it to this day.” However, Scott speaking out about her struggles growing up is already having a huge impact, as she received a surprise letter from a fan saying that the footballer had inspired a positive change in their family. In her autobiography, ' How (Not) to Be Strong' , the Lionesses legend had penned a love letter to her mother and her words resonated with the fan and her family, and ended up changing their lives. Scott took to social media to share a photo of the letter, which read: "Hi Alex, thank you for the letter to your mom that you made public on (sic) your book. I read it to my mother while we both cried. "The letter was another brick for her to leave my dad. After 43 years of being in an abusive marriage, she found the power to leave him and at 78 years old, she has re-flourished." Scott's father has denied the allegations against him, responding by saying: "I have no idea why she's saying all this stuff. I was raised in a strict but loving Jamaican family and Alex should know what they are like. I taught her discipline, I did a lot to help her. "Perhaps she is judging me by today's standards, I don't know. Parents were a lot tougher back then. But I was never violent, that's just not me. I never beat Alex or anyone else in the family or did anything like that."