HE earned himself heartthrob status on TV show Educating Yorkshire and since then ex head teacher Jonny Mitchell’s life has moved on in mysterious ways.
He has been slammed for falling in love with a woman almost 30 years his junior after splitting from his wife but straight talking Jonny really couldn’t care less what others think of him.
Headteacher Jonny Mitchell earned a legion of fans after appearing on Educating Yorkshire[/caption]
The TV ‘heartthrob’, 53, has now found love with Abi McMahon, 25[/caption]
Hitting back at the haters and speaking exclusively for the first time since he began a relationship with Abi McMahon, 25, a woman who is only slightly older than his three children, he says: “I’ve been branded a paedophile, a groomer, a dirty old man and far worse.
“It’s par for the course for people who hide behind computer screens and keyboards and it makes me feel pessimistic about how society is panning out.
“I never thought I’d fall in love again let alone with a woman so much younger than me but you can’t legislate who you meet.”
Jonny, 53, won national acclaim as the original head teacher in the first series of the C4 show when it was first broadcast 12 years ago.
Back then and a married dad of three, his compassion and common sense as head of Dewsbury’s Thornhill Community Academy, West Yorkshire, won him a legion of fans and saw him become an unlikely heartthrob.
But today, he is semi-retired as he decides on his next venture in education, divorced, and lives with his girlfriend of four years, a police officer turned social media influencer.
And just like Jonny, Abi, from Nottingham, has no qualms either about taking on the trolls who blast her for the age gap: “I’ve been labelled online as a gold digger, an embarrassment and the worst was one who told me to kill myself,” she says.
“People will think I must have daddy issues – I definitely don’t. I want people to simply not judge others not so quickly.
“I tend to answer them and that usually shuts them up!”
Today, the couple, who have shared a rented stone cottage in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, for the past two years, want to set the record straight about their love match.
Jonny says when they met on a night out in a Leeds bar in September 2021 he had been separated from his wife Lisa since 2014, and the couple divorced the following year.
“To be honest, we would have split sooner but the kids were young,” Jonny explains.
“The marriage was simply not working. There was no third party involved – and definitely not Abi as some have accused. Neither did I teach her – she grew up over 60 miles away from Dewsbury.
“Some people close to me thought the publicity from Educating Yorkshire went to my head but I don’t think it changed me. I got invited to lots of events – lunches, awards dinners, charity events – and I always tried to take family and friends with me.”
‘I didn’t know who he was’
The pair met on a night out in a Leeds bar in September 2021 when he was separated from his wife[/caption]
Jonny continued: “I wasn’t going to go out the night I met Abi but I did. I was standing at the bar when she spilled a cocktail over me.”
Abi adds: “I didn’t know who he was. We got chatting and he asked where my accent was from. I liked him and thought he was handsome so we swapped numbers.
“For months we text and finally met up mid 2022. I bought him breakfast at Frankie and Benny’s in Chesterfield – so much for me chasing him for his money!”
The marriage was simply not working. There was no third party involved – and definitely not Abi as some have accused
Johnny Mitchell
Jonny says: “We took it very gradually, not rushing into anything but we slowly fell in love.”
Despite being heavily blasted by ‘keyboard warriors’, both say they have had little face to face criticism of the age gap.
Jonny says: “One of my sisters had a few reservations but when she met Abi, she was fine.
“My close mates simply said that’s nice, let’s see how long it lasts – well, we are still here!”
Abi says her parents showed no massive shock either but Jonny refuses to discuss how his three daughters, Ella, Lydia and Celia, – just a few years younger than Abi – feel about his partner.
ALIGNED ON FAMILY
Yet the couple insist they’re on the same page when it comes to having children together and they dote on their `baby’ Teddy, a Cavapoochon puppy who they’ve had since May.
“I could not mentally or physically have children now,” says Jonny, “I am too old. If Abi wanted any, we would have to part.”
Jonny said he is not ‘mentally or physically’ able to have more kids and doesn’t want to have them with Abi[/caption]
Whilst Abi insists she has never wanted children. “I still don’t, I am firm about that,” she says. “I get asked all the time if I worry about Jonny ageing – I don’t at all. We joke about me emptying his chamber pot!”
The couple talk openly about what they have in common and their differences.
Jonny says: “I like all types of music, particularly classical, and enjoy doing the Times newspaper crossword. I’m not into social media but I support Abi pursuing a career in it. We are from different generations and respect that.”
People will think I must have daddy issues – I definitely don’t. I want people to simply not judge others not so quickly
Abi McMahon
Abi, who now has a social media manager and 29,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram, reveals: “I like house and techno music but we love watching crime dramas and documentaries and share a sense of humour. We bring different things to the relationship.
“I began to share posts about our lives on Tik Tok and Instagram (abs_mxo NOTE must keep in) and they took off. I want to break down any stigma about age gap relationships and maybe build a career on this.”
Jonny laughs: “I hope so!”, though Abi is clear that they have separate bank accounts and both pay their equal ways in the relationship.
Abi also wants to raise awareness about mental health after she was diagnosed in April with Borderline Personality Disorder. Symptoms include emotional instability, impulsive behaviour, distorted patterns of thinking and intense but unstable relationships with others.
She explains: “I over analyse things and think people are being rude when they are not. I always knew I was different and though the diagnosis was a shock, it explains a lot about me.”
‘Life is not fair’
The couple are watching this year’s series of Educating Yorkshire, set again in Jonny’s old school but with his friend Matthew Burton now its head.
And Jonny has harsh words for how home schooling has impacted the younger generation: ”The series is really good though there are obvious changes since we filmed in 2013.
“When I agreed to film it was because I wanted to get more bums on the school’s seats. We had 600 pupils and needed another 300 to fill the school.
“Our programme went out at 9pm, this one is 8pm, so I think ours was more earthy.
“Plus reality TV was new and the kids were not as media or camera savvy as they are today.
Jonny, 53, (centre), pictured with schoolboy Jack, left, and Mr Steer, right, gained fans as the original head teacher in the first series of the C4 show when it was first broadcast 12 years ago[/caption]
“This series focuses more on pastoral care but it does not surprise me given the explosion in mental health issues. Home schooling during Covid was an unmitigated disaster for kids, parents and teachers. No one benefited.
“I know we might not have had a choice pre-vaccine but over four years on we are still seeing the impact.
“Some senior school children cannot dress themselves competently, can’t do a tie or shoelaces or use a knife and fork as they are so used to eating fast food from a box. It seems these things are not important to some youths today.
“Saying this, I still believe kids are wonderful beings. I saw pupils whose home lives were so tough that it was an effort just to get into school.
“I especially wanted them to do well as they showed resilience and I always felt for them if they didn’t – but life is not fair, is it?”
Prior to signing up for a new season of the show, Jonny reveals how he met with Matthew to discuss whether he should do a fresh series.
“Matthew is a great teacher and I just said, ‘You need to do this on your own, pal’. He has a very different style to me but I really respect him.” he adds.
Rumours circulate on social media about Mr Burton’s fulsome head of hair he now sports.
When asked if he had a hair transplant or was it a wig, the totally bald Jonny laughs: “As someone who has been bald since his early 20s, I could not possibly comment!”
The pair are equally as tight-lipped on the subject of marriage but it could be argued that Abi is the one who wears the trousers in this relationship, adding: “Never say never…and Jonny thinks the same.”
Educating Yorkshire background
EDUCATING Yorkshire, a spin-off of Educating Essex, has become the most iconic Educating… franchise.
The documentary programme, which regularly brought viewers to tears, premiered in 2013, returning briefly for a special in 2014.
The franchise came to an end in 2020 with Educating Greater Manchester, but made an epic return with a new series of Educating Yorkshire in August 2025.
Educating Yorkshire returned to Thornhill Community Academy and although it has been more than a decade since the show last aired, some familiar faces returned, too.
Fans of the show will no doubt recognise teacher Mr Burton, who worked with student Musharaf, helping him to overcome his stutter.
Mr Burton has now advanced up the ladder to become Thornhill’s head, replacing Mr Mitchell.
He is thrilled to be bringing Channel 4 back to the academy, and said that he waited until the time was right.
With the school now doing well, Mr Burton feels there is no better time to shine a light on the issues his staff and students are still facing.
The rise in teenage anxiety, a post-Covid national attendance crisis, the influence of mobiles and social media and difficulties in recruiting and problems retaining teachers are among them.
