The message went instead to pretty actress Georgina Sutcliffe, 29�who he had briefly met two years previously. 

And despite his three divorces and the 19-year age gap, the Sharpe star insists she is the love of his life. 

“I feel very secure this time,” he told us. “I’m very happy with Georgina.” 

Speaking publicly about their relationship for the first time, the fiercely private couple also revealed the last-minute cancellation of their wedding this month was caused by illness. 

And they set the record straight on their infamous hotel bust-up that left them scratched and bleeding 18 months ago. 

Sheffield-born Sean, who has three daughters from his previous marriages, grinned as he recalled getting together with Georgina three years ago. 

Proposal 
He said: “I’d come back from filming in Toronto and was trying to contact my assistant Chris but sent the message to Georgina instead. 

I got a message back and thought, �Why’s that bird texting me?’ It all took off from there.” 

But blonde Georgina, who was in The New Adventures Of Robin Hood, fell ASLEEP the first time she saw Sean. 

She was watching a West End production of Macbeth in 2002, when he was playing the lead. 

She giggled: “I was managing a bar at the time and we’d been working hard the night before. 

“It was no reflection on him.” 

The couple, dubbed Lady and the Tramp because of her middle-class upbringing and his scruffy image, now live together in his �2million mews house in Belsize Park, north London. 

They are rarely seen in public, preferring a quiet home life to the limelight. Even Sean’s proposal was low key. 

Georgina said: “Getting married was something we had been talking about for a while. Then one night we were sitting at home and I said, �OK, you can ask me now if you like.’ And that was it.” 

But the loved-up couple also admit to stormy rows. In July 2006 they were staying at the plush Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills when other guests complained of screams and crashes from their �300-a-night suite. 

Hotel security staff intervened and wrote in their log: “Ms Sutcliffe had bruises on her upper body, face and scratches on her legs. She said she did not want to press charges.” 

Security manager Ron Murphy quizzed Bean and noted he “had a strong smell of alcohol on his breath and numerous scratches to his face and arms, which were bleeding”. 

But the couple insist the row was exaggerated. Georgina said: “Yes we’d had a row�a bloody good one�but the stories about heavy drinking and me scratching his face are just rubbish. 

“I’d stormed out of the room then realised I’d got no money on me or anywhere to stay, and started banging on the door to get back in.” Sean added: “The hotel told me a security guy has been dismissed and they apologised about the whole thing. 

“They’ve also offered us a complimentary suite for ten nights�but we won’t be spending our honeymoon there.” 

The couple have had plenty of lighter moments too, including when Georgina’s rubber dress started melting at Sean’s 2005 movie premiere of The Island. 

She said: “Someone suggested spraying WD40 on it to help smooth it out, but the chemicals started eating the rubber. 

“I didn’t know what to do. Trust me, you don’t wear underwear with a dress like that.” 

The pair were set to wed on January 3 at Marylebone Register Office, west London, in front of a small group of family and friends. 

But the wedding was called off at the last minute because Georgina’s father was ill. 

It is now due to go ahead on a secret date later this year. 

Sean’s first marriage was to his childhood sweetheart, hairdresser Debra James, when he was 21. He was working at his dad’s steel firm and studying at college to be a welder when he stumbled into a drama class. 

They split when he moved to London to pursue acting. 

Football 
In 1982 he was at drama college RADA when he met second wife Melanie Hill�who played wacky Aveline in the hit TV series Bread. 

They had two daughters� Lorna, now 19, and Molly, 15�but split after 15 years. 

It was rumoured Bean was seeing a barmaid behind Melanie’s back, which he denied. It was also claimed Melanie was sick of being second best to his beloved Sheffield Utd. 

Within three months Bean married again, to Sharpe co-star Abigail Cruttenden. She gave birth to his third daughter Evie, now eight, but the couple got a “quickie” divorce in 2000. 

When asked if it was hard to stay married, Sean said: “I don’t think you ever really understand women. You never really know how things are going to turn out, you have to live day by day. 

“I just like the fact I’m in a situation where my life changes quite a lot. Sometimes they may not be great changes but at least it’s never unexciting.” 

Meanwhile Georgina quipped about her fianc�’s past: “I’m trying to get a credit card with the name Mrs Sean Bean IV.”