I’m David Ginola’s secret love child – we met for the first time in 28 years, he said I was “a real Ginola” and then let me out
FOOTIE legend’s love child David Ginola has revealed she met him for the first time in 28 years and he said: “Yes, you’re a real Ginola” – then interrupted her again.
Joy Pinquier cried like the former France International finally admitted that he is her father and hugged her during an emotional meeting in her hometown of Marseille.
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But now Joy is devastated and claims she feels abandoned again as he has cut off all further contact after their hour-long meeting.
In an exclusive interview, Joy said: “He looked me up and down and said, ‘Yes, you’re a real Ginola.’ I replied, “Why did you ever doubt it?”
“He took me in his arms and hugged me and it was a very special moment.
“I had tears in my eyes because it was the hug I had always dreamed of with my father.
“We talked for about an hour and it felt like we were connecting.
“He kept saying we were going to a restaurant to get to know each other better, but 18 months later I still haven’t seen him.”
Ginola, 56, agreed to meet Joy after appearing on I’m a celebrity Get me out of here! in 2021.
Joy, now 30, said: “Two years ago I wrote to him on his Instagram account and much to my surprise he replied.
“I gave him my phone number and he called. We must have talked on the phone for about two hours and after that we started exchanging messages on WhatsApp.
“One day I saw that he was going to Marseille, where I live, to play boules with his friends. I decided to go and meet him.
“I texted him to let him know I was there and when I walked over I saw he had a big smile on his face. Now I realize he was never interested in being my father, just out of politeness.
“It’s a terrible thing to say, but I feel like I’ve been abandoned a second time.”
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The meeting took place despite Ginola refusing contact with her for the first 28 years of her life.
He was married and already had his first son Andrea, now 31, with model wife Coraline, 54 – also mother of his 28-year-old daughter Carla – when Joy was conceived in 1991 during an affair with Joy’s mother.
A Frenchman Court ordered Ginola three times to take a DNA test to confirm paternity, but always refused.
Under French LawThen he was automatically declared the father.
Ginola was ordered to pay €450 (£345) a month in child support until Joy turned 18.
Her mother Joelle Pinquier, 56, was working as a secretary in Brest, where Ginola played for the local club, when they met.
He then played for Paris Saint-Germain, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Everton.
He also played 17 international matches for France before retiring in 2002.
Ginola continues to work as a commentator in England and France and was one of the biggest stars of season 21 of I’m a Celebrity, where he came fourth.
Joy said: “Mum had no idea he was married – he must have hidden his wedding ring in his pocket. When I was six years old, I found out he was my father.
“I remember we were playing a children’s game with a sticker book and when I came to his photo I drew a heart on it.
“Then my mother said to me, ‘I want to tell you a secret about this man, but I’ll tell you when you’re old enough to understand.’
“I said, ‘Tell me now,’ and insisted. Finally she admitted that he was my father.
“It was difficult to understand. I loved watching football and he was a great player and such a big star in France.
“I watched him on TV all the time and was in awe of him. Without him it felt like a huge hole in my life.
“I couldn’t understand why he didn’t want to be my father.
“A father plays such a hugely important role for a little girl.
“Anyone who misses out will have a hard time and my childhood was hard. I often stayed with my grandparents in Paris as my mother had difficulty raising me alone and we didn’t have much Money.
“I missed my father and needed his love and guidance, but he didn’t want to take responsibility or admit his mistake.
“The court asked him to have a DNA test – the first time was when I was ten or eleven years old – but he refused.
“When I turned 13 he started paying child support, but he still refused to see me and I felt his absence more and more the older I got.”
Joy saw her father for the first time when she turned 15.
She said: “He wanted to meet me at a law firm in Marseille to see if we looked alike, but at the last moment he changed his mind.
“When I got to the law firm, he was already in the way.
“We saw each other on the other side of a spiral staircase and he looked at me and smiled.
“It looked like a grin to me. It was terrible. When I got home I had tears in my eyes.”
Joys next A close encounter with her father occurred in May 2016, when she was 22 years old. Ginola, who had recently separated from Coraline, collapsed during an accident Charity Football match in the south of France this month.
He suffered cardiac arrest and was clinically dead for eight minutes, but survived because his friend and fellow footballer Frederic Mendy performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Ginola was flown to a hospital in Monaco, where surgeons performed a six-hour quadruple bypass.
When Joy heard this, she drove 136 miles from Marseille to the hospital News.
She said: “I didn’t want the day I first met my dad to be dead.
“I got to his room. The staff outside asked for my ID and then refused me entry.
“Later that year I watched one of them the games at the European Championships in France, when David appeared as a commentator on the big screen. I immediately burst into tears.”
It would be another five years before the next contact.
Joy said: “After we spoke on the phone for the first time, he messaged me on WhatsApp and said ‘happy birthday’ and things like that.”
“It gave me hope, but he never ended his messages with “Dad” but always with “David.”
“He also refused to apologize. He told me he wasn’t sorry for telling my mother he didn’t want to have a child – he handled the situation very harshly. I realize now that I can’t force him to be my father.
“I don’t care about his money and I never wanted to attack him publicly. I have always felt it was my duty to defend his reputation.
“But it’s gotten to the point where I feel terrible anger and resentment towards my father.
“More than anything, I want to finally look him in the eye and ask why he treated me like that.”
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