Ulrika was never a rival, says Sven's partner

Sven Goran Eriksson’s partner Nancy Dell’Olio has told for the first time how she forgave him for his affair with TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson.

Dell’Olio claimed the England football manager’s fling strengthened their relationship rather than damaged it.

And she coolly dismissed the idea that Jonsson was ever a threat, saying: “I have never thought of any woman as my rival for a single second. It is not even worth discussing.”

In her first in-depth interview, Dell’Olio told Hello! Magazine that she still trusts Eriksson despite the affair.

She hinted that the England coach’s attraction to Jonsson was based purely on sex.

“Physical infidelity is not the end of the world. It is different for men and women. Women are usually more emotionally involved but men generally don’t need to be emotionally involved to have an affair. I can deal with that in my head,” she said.

“Anyone can make a mistake. It depends on your relationship whether or not you can survive that difficulty. Sometimes it can make your relationship better.

“There will be rainstorms but they can make your relationship stronger – and without them perhaps love would be too easy and not worth having.”

Dell’Olio insisted Erikkson remains very much in love with her and that neither of them had ever considered walking out.

“It is important to believe in your relationship. You can’t walk away when things get difficult,” she said.

The nation was stunned when the story broke of Eriksson’s affair with Jonsson last April.

The England manager chose to stay with Dell’Olio and it appeared the Italian real estate lawyer was definitely the dominant partner in their relationship.

But she told Hello! That she behaves “like a geisha” when she is around Eriksson at the home they share in London’s Regent’s Park.

“My priority is to please my man and that gives me much more pleasure than anything else,” she said.

Dell’Olio, who gives her age as 41, described Eriksson as “the love of my life – and will be forever”.

She claimed he had proposed to her and that she “feels married” – although there are no wedding plans.

The Italian said she would like to have children with Eriksson one day.

Dell’Olio also spoke about the car accident which nearly killed her when she was 21.

A driver ploughed into her as she stood in the street, leaving her in a coma for three months.

Her face was disfigured, she was paralysed down her left side and she needed six months of intensive therapy in hospital to help her recover.

Dell’Olio is now considering a TV offer to co-present a fashion makeover show with Carol Vorderman.

Shortly after the affair was made public, she made a defiant appearance at a Downing Street function in a show-stopping red catsuit.

But she insisted the outfit was not designed to send out a message to Jonsson - and said that Tony Blair had complimented her on it because it was the Labour colour.