How Jobe Watson caught his New York girlfriend’s eye with a napkin

EXCLUSIVE: ESSENDON star Jobe Watson may be famous in Australia for his football talent, but for new girlfriend Virginia Slaghekke, it was a simple napkin that caught her attention.

“We met in a coffee shop in New York. He was having breakfast and he ran after me with his number on a napkin,” Picture: Alex Coppel.

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COFFEE has played a pivotal role in Essendon star Jobe Watson’s life in the past year.

He dabbled as a barista while living in New York during his 2016 hiatus from football and the enticing brew led to him meeting his girlfriend, Virginia Slaghekke.

Slaghekke, 26, in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Herald Sun, has told how she and Watson met in the heart of the Big Apple in August.

“We met in a coffee shop in New York. He was having breakfast and he ran after me with his number on a napkin,” Slaghekke said.

“Power to the napkin. He was very nervous when he did it, but it worked out well.’’

Slaghekke with Jobe Watson. Picture: Instagram

The statuesque beauty, who speaks six languages, has moved to Melbourne for six months to further her studies in neuroscience at Deakin University.

Also a successful model, having worked in London, Paris, Milan and New York over the past 13 years, Slaghekke has signed with Melbourne’s prestigious Chadwick Models.

“My study is my priority, of course. However, I am really excited to be with them (Chadwick Models),” she said.

Slaghekke said she had already applied to study in Melbourne before meeting Watson.

“Last March I got an email, when it was really cold outside, offering an exchange in Australia,” she said.

“So I applied and I got accepted in September and here I am.”

She finishes her four-year course next year and is looking to study medicine.

Slaghekke said she had no idea of Watson’s sporting career and his celebrity status in Melbourne when they met. And footy is still something of a mystery to her.

Slaghekke with Watson at a family wedding.

“I did not know of the existence of AFL until a few months ago,” she said. “The way I know Jobe is from New York and there he is just Jobe. He is just Jobe to me.”

She is definitely planning to attend Essendon games this year.

“I am really excited to experience it,” she said.

“I have never seen him actually play. I have seen him kick a football once in a living room, which was not a huge success. It was in New York and it was a really small apartment and then I asked him if he really played football after that.”

Slaghekke said there were many highlights during her 13 years in the fashion industry.

“Working for Italian Vogue was a dream come true, (and) working for L’Oreal, which I still have a contract with, was great.”

Born in the Netherlands, Slaghekke was scouted as a model at 13. She quickly found success and has worked with photographers such as Ellen von Unwerth, appeared in publications including Vogue and Marie Claire and worked for leviathan brands including Cartier and L’Oreal.

Chadwick Models director Matthew Anderson said he was ­delighted to welcome her.

“We are thrilled that Virginia has decided to join us at Chadwicks,” he said.

“When we met I was immediately impressed and felt she would resonate with some of our key clients. It is not often that we get an international model of her calibre in Melbourne for a significant amount of time.”