NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

Star Olympia Valance spills on exclusive celebrity dating app

By Bronte Coy
news.com.au·
18 Oct, 2019 09:40 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Olympia Valance arrives at a red carpet event, 2014. Photo / Getty Images

Olympia Valance arrives at a red carpet event, 2014. Photo / Getty Images

It's the most exclusive and coveted dating app on offer, packed full of single celebrities looking for love — and its users are sworn to secrecy.

Raya is the dating app for the rich and famous — and is notoriously difficult to become a part of.

Thankfully for all of us who'll never be invited to join, Playing for Keeps star Olympia Valance bent the rules and offered up a few details about it during an interview with Nova's Fitzy and Wippa show this morning.

Asked about how she'd first met her boyfriend, Essendon player Thomas Bellchambers, the actress squirmed a little before reluctantly revealing the truth, reports News.com.au.

"I can't believe no one has asked me this question in any interview, ever. Do I lie?" Valance, 26, replied.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We met on a dating app … It's this app for people that are, like, in the public eye, called Raya."

View this post on Instagram

Mine ❤️

A post shared by O L Y M P I A V A L A N C E (@olympiavalance) on Oct 1, 2019 at 11:22pm PDT

The former Neighbours star went on to explain that after matching up earlier this year, she and Bellchambers, 30, had realised they were practically neighbours and arranged to get a wine — and "haven't been apart for a day since".

The couple now live together in Melbourne.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Can I ask you this, did you run into anyone else on the app that we would know?" Fitzy asked her.

"Oh my God, so many people … There were some really big stars," Valance responded cryptically.

While she refused to reveal any of their identities ("I can't!"), she did offer up one big clue — that a very famous "race car driver" was on there.

View this post on Instagram

🌅🍸❤️ @thomas_bellchambers

A post shared by O L Y M P I A V A L A N C E (@olympiavalance) on Sep 18, 2019 at 3:19am PDT

"Lewis Hamilton!" co-host Sarah McGilvray guessed immediately, prompting a telling silence from Valance.

Discover more

Entertainment

Could this be Kim Kardashian's doppelgänger?

14 Oct 01:35 AM
World

Celebrity publicist exposes Sydney poo jogger

14 Oct 06:43 PM
Opinion

Anna Murray: The Bachelorette Australia serves up a plot twist

15 Oct 07:00 PM
Entertainment

Why The Sixth Sense star disappeared

19 Oct 01:42 AM

Anyone hoping to join Raya reportedly needs to meet an extensive list of requirements. They need an invitation from a friend who is an existing member, a creative job, an impressive Instagram following and approval by an actual committee.

It's understood only 8 per cent of the hundreds of thousands who apply are successful — but once they've made it through, if they reveal the identities of anyone else using the app, it's grounds for instant removal.

Matthew Perry, Demi Lovato, Cara Delevingne, Zach Braff, Ruby Rose and Amy Schumer are among the celebrities who are rumoured to have had accounts at some point.

While she was cagey about details, Valance did confirm the process for approval on the app had been exhausting — and "very annoying".

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

Entertainment

Scarlett Johansson: AI can't replicate the soulfulness of actors

30 Jun 06:49 AM
Entertainment

'Lorde's not here to look good': Beauty mag slammed for unpacking star's 'tired-girl aesthetic'

30 Jun 05:58 AM
Entertainment

Henry Golding compares Charlize Theron to Tom Cruise in high praise

30 Jun 03:00 AM

A new care model to put patients first

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

Scarlett Johansson: AI can't replicate the soulfulness of actors

Scarlett Johansson: AI can't replicate the soulfulness of actors

30 Jun 06:49 AM

She feels AI threatens society's foundational trust and moral compass.

'Lorde's not here to look good': Beauty mag slammed for unpacking star's 'tired-girl aesthetic'

'Lorde's not here to look good': Beauty mag slammed for unpacking star's 'tired-girl aesthetic'

30 Jun 05:58 AM
Henry Golding compares Charlize Theron to Tom Cruise in high praise

Henry Golding compares Charlize Theron to Tom Cruise in high praise

30 Jun 03:00 AM
Rita Ora shares new details of how she proposed to Taika Waititi, after an A-List introduction

Rita Ora shares new details of how she proposed to Taika Waititi, after an A-List introduction

30 Jun 01:15 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP