Every week, thousands search for information about Izzie Balmer’s partner. They find the same name repeated across dozens of websites: Will Hawley, married November 16, 2016, at St. Alkmund’s Church.
None of it checks out.
The BBC antiques expert, now 36 and at the height of her television career, has never confirmed a relationship publicly. More telling: not one credible news outlet has verified the marriage claims that saturate search results.
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What Actually Exists on Record
Balmer appears in Hello Magazine profiles, Antiques Trade Gazette interviews, and BBC presenter rosters. Her Wikipedia page lists her education, career timeline, and television credits. Her Instagram account shows 31,000 followers and regular posts about work.
Nowhere in verified sources does a partner appear.
Hello Magazine wrote in August 2025: “Izzie likes to keep her love life out of the limelight, so not much is known about her relationship status.” That’s the closest any established publication has come to addressing her personal life.
The contrast matters. When fellow BBC antiques presenter Roo Irvine married in 2022, Hello ran photos and details. When presenters have partners, UK media covers it. The absence of coverage around Balmer speaks clearly.
Where the Will Hawley Story Originated
Trace the marriage claims back through Google results and a pattern emerges. The earliest mentions appear on content farm websites in late 2023 and early 2024. Each article copies similar phrasing:
“According to sources, Izzie married Will Hawley on November 16, 2016.”
“Some sources claim to have found Izzie Balmer’s partner after long research.”
“Reports suggest the couple wed at St. Alkmund’s Church in an intimate ceremony.”
No sources are named. No photos exist. No wedding announcement ran in Derby or Derbyshire newspapers. St. Alkmund’s Church in Duffield has no public record of the ceremony.
One site references an Instagram account “@foxcompaq” with 135 followers, describing it as Hawley’s private profile. The account cannot be verified or connected to Balmer in any traceable way.
Another includes a photo caption mentioning “Helen Hawley (sister-in-law)” with no source attribution or context.
These articles share another trait: they rank well in search engines while containing no original reporting.
The Professional Record
What exists in verified sources paints a different picture. Balmer’s career trajectory is well documented.
Born in Quarndon, Derbyshire, she studied geography at Durham University from 2009 to 2012. Her mother suggested auction house work experience after graduation. That placement at a local firm turned permanent.
She spent four years at Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire before moving to Wessex Auction Rooms in Wiltshire as Head Valuer in January 2018. During that period, she earned FGA and DGA diplomas from the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, specializing in jewellery and silver.
Her television career started in 2017 when she filled in for her boss Charles Hanson on Bargain Hunt. BBC producers noticed. She appeared on Street Auction in 2018, joined Antiques Road Trip in 2019, and became a regular on The Travelling Auctioneers from 2022.
She left Wessex Auction Rooms in December 2023 to work freelance. In 2024, she joined Clevedon Salerooms in Bristol as Jewellery and Silver Consultant.
This timeline is verified across multiple sources: Wikipedia, Wessex Auction Rooms announcements, Clevedon Salerooms press releases, and BBC programme credits.
Personal relationships? Not mentioned once.
What She Actually Shares
Balmer lives in Bristol. Her Instagram shows this life in careful detail: filming locations for BBC shows, antiques she values, performances with Bristol Classical Players orchestra, time with her string quartet.
Family appears. Her parents Sheila and Toby. Her brother Hugh, a sports player. Friends from Bristol.
A romantic partner does not.
In 2019, she told Bristol Post about her career: “I kind of fell into this job but I absolutely love it. I have always loved jewellery and been a fan of sparkly things. I cannot think of anything I would rather do.”
She told Stylist Magazine about working in a male-dominated industry: “I do sometimes get older men presuming that I don’t know anything. It’s just a matter of overcoming their pre-conceived ideas, winning them round and gaining their confidence.”
She told Great British Life in 2017 about her musical background: “I planned to be a professional musician but didn’t enjoy music college.”
Hours of interviews exist on record. Relationship status never comes up.
In August 2023, she posted from Cornwall: “Despite the smile I always present, sometimes the smile is a mask, and recently it’s been a mask I’ve worn everyday. But coming to Cornwall has given me the courage I’d lost.”
The post hints at personal struggles. It reveals nothing about a partner.
Why the Misinformation Persists
The search term “Izzie Balmer partner” generates traffic. Websites capitalize on that traffic by publishing articles filled with unverified claims. These articles cite “sources” that don’t exist and reference “reports” that were never published.
Google’s algorithm rewards content that matches search intent. An article titled “Izzie Balmer Partner Will Hawley” ranks higher than an article admitting no verified information exists.
The result: misinformation crowds out fact.
This isn’t unique to Balmer. Similar patterns affect other British television personalities who maintain privacy. The difference is scale. For Balmer, the Will Hawley claim has become so widespread that many now accept it as truth.
It remains unproven.
Current Life and Career Focus
Balmer’s schedule runs through BBC filming commitments, valuation appointments at Clevedon Salerooms, and musical performances across Bristol. She plays viola with Bristol Classical Players and performs with The Cotswold Quartet at weddings.
She’s also an aspiring beekeeper, tends a garden, and travels for work and pleasure. Her Instagram shows trips to France, Cornwall, and the Netherlands.
The industry recognized her work early. Antiques Trade Gazette named her one of “30 Under 30 Rising Stars” in 2019. The National Association of Valuers and Auctioneers nominated her for Young Achiever of the Year in 2020.
She’s sold major pieces: a George Turner painting for ยฃ22,000, a Rolex watch for ยฃ20,000, a diamond ring for ยฃ18,000. On Bargain Hunt, a Charles Horner brooch she identified made over ยฃ100 profit.
Her expertise is documented. Her personal life is not.
The Answer
No credible evidence confirms Izzie Balmer has a partner. The Will Hawley marriage claims lack verification from any established news source, wedding record, or statement from Balmer herself.
She may be single. She may be in a relationship. She may be married. What’s certain is that she’s chosen not to make her romantic life public, and no legitimate reporting has uncovered details she hasn’t shared.
For viewers who watch her value Georgian brooches on Antiques Road Trip or negotiate prices on Bargain Hunt, that’s all the information that actually exists. Everything else is speculation dressed up as fact, repeated until it looks real.
In journalism, unverified claims stay unverified no matter how many times they’re republished. The question about Izzie Balmer’s partner has one honest answer: we don’t know, and she’s not telling.
