Today we’re talking to Alex, another of our sexy Hot 15 in our Man Of The Year 2016 competition. If you think he deserves a spot in our top three, vote for him now!

What was your motivation for entering this competition?

My mum’s always loved reading romance novels, so much so that she’s recently released her first two self-published books. She was just on the web and told me to give the application a go. I had no aspirations that it would get anywhere though, so thank you for the opportunity.

What’s your definition of a modern day hero?

Hero is a word that gets thrown around a lot today – it depends on your perspective as to what makes a hero. If you were to ask a soldier or a serviceman if they thought that they were heroes they would probably tell you they weren’t, much the same way that a child looks up to their mum or dad and sees them as a hero. To be a hero you don’t have to be heroic, you just have to be seen in that way by the right person.

What’s the most heroic thing you’ve ever done?

I don’t have a particularly dangerous job, and I’ve not really been put in a position where I’ve had to be a “hero”. The most decent thing I’ve ever done was when I was younger. There was a dog that was owned by a group of, shall we say, undesirables. Now this dog had been beaten, tied up and mistreated a lot, I must have only been 9 or 10 at the time and didn’t have a lot of money, but what money I did have, along with my brother, we gave to them and asked them if we could take the dog off them. We called him Lucky and after my parents saw him they let us keep him. We kept him for a few years and after he was better, well and loved we took him to a farm. A house is no place for a sheep dog to be cooped up.

How would your friends describe you in less than ten words?

Haha, well there’s a few answers for this one – you’d probably get sarcastic, competitive, artistic, caring, funny (or I like to think), confident, persuasive, active, annoying but loyal.

What’s your idea of a perfect date?

I enjoy simplicity to be honest, I quite like going for a meal, Italian or steak preferably, followed by a couple of drinks, somewhere quiet, where you can really have a good talk and get to know someone.

When was the last time you cried?

I’m not one to go crying over everything, and there hasn’t been much recently for me to be that sad about, but last year when my dog Tyler died, that broke me.

What’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever done for someone?

I’m not that much of a romantic, but I did send a big bouquet of roses and chocolate to my girlfriend’s apartment for Valentine’s day, and I do try to get her flowers regularly.

Tell us a secret – something we’d never guess about you.

I’m quite artistic, I like to draw, paint and sculpt. I actually designed my own tattoo and have drawn up some for friends as well.

What’s your biggest fear?

Being alone, I couldn’t think of anything worse. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my own company from time to time, but to be truly alone, that scares me more than anything.

Do you believe in destiny? Tell us why, or why not.

I do, but I don’t at the same time. It’s a hard thing to explain. Do I believe we’ve all got a path to follow? Yes. Do I believe we’ve all been put on that path by some higher purpose? No. We make our own choices and those actions determine what our destiny is.

If you could change the world one step at a time, where would you start?

I know it’s easier said than done, but eradicate extreme poverty. I still don’t see how in today’s modern age, with all of the advancements and things that mankind have achieved that we can afford to spend billions of pounds exploring outside of our world when there’s people at home and abroad who can’t afford to clothe and feed themselves. The idea that one life matters more than another is the root of most of the problems in the world.

If someone made a movie of your life, who would play you and why?

This was genuinely the hardest question to answer, I had to ask my girlfriend for help. Not that my life has been nearly interesting to warrant being immortalised on the silver screen, also the fact he’s quite a bit older than me but we settled on Bradley Cooper. The way he mixes humour with sincerity and can also be serious, I believe, fits my personality.

What a thoughtful lot of answers! If you want to see Alex on your Valentine’s Day Mills and Boon book cover, vote for him now!

By The Mills & Boon team