AGONY OF ANT
Star’s anguish as he reveals he is divorcing wife of 11 years
ANT McPartlin shows the strain as he goes for a stroll yesterday after revealing he is divorcing wife Lisa.
The star looked exhausted and had a bandaged hand during the walk in London.
His spokesman said: “After 11 years, Ant is ending his marriage.”
ANT McPartlin has admitted he is to blame for the break-up of his 11-year marriage after spending months apart from wife Lisa every year.
The Geordie I’m a Celebrity star was spotted out with his mum Christine yesterday just hours after confirming the couple are getting divorced.
Wearing a Newcastle United hat and walking dog Hurley, the 42-year-old showed the strain of the split and his battle with pill and booze addiction.
Ant looked like he had not slept for days and he also appeared to have a bandaged hand.
As the pair strolled near the home he shared with Lisa, 41, in West London, a source said: “Ant and Lisa have tried to make things work but they have been drifting apart for some time and their relationship has been over as a proper marriage for months.
“Ant has been difficult to live with for a long time and was keeping more and more secrets from Lisa the longer the marriage went on.
“They got to a difficult place and there was no way their relationship could recover, the best thing now is that they both move on.”
Earlier, the presenter’s spokesman said: “In response to the recent speculation in the media, Ant is very sad to announce that, after 11 years, he is ending his marriage to Lisa.
“Ant asks for privacy at this difficult time, for both himself, Lisa and their immediate families. No further statement will be made.” The divorce could cost him half his estimated £60million fortune.
Insiders claim Hurley will be one of the most contested aspects of the case with both of them keen to keep the pet.
Ant, who spent the weekend with Christine in a rented property, has been living apart from Strictly make-up artist Lisa since leaving rehab last year where he was treated for depression, alcohol and pill abuse. He had struggled with a two-year addiction to superstrength painkillers following a knee operation in 2015. It is believed that was when the marriage started to go downhill. When he entered rehab Ant admitted he had “let down” Lisa as well as pal and co-presenter Dec Donnelly, 42. Asked later where it left the marriage, he said: “All I can say at the moment is that she’s been amazing, fantastic throughout. Time will tell. It’s very personal, isn’t it. I’ve put Lisa through hell with mood swings and depression and how it affects you. I’m very sorry about the effect it has on partners. This kind of stuff puts strains on any marriage. In hindsight, I should have mentioned it earlier but you’re embarrassed about it.
“I was at the point where anything, prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs… I would take.
“And take them with alcohol, which is ridiculous. The doctors told me, ‘You could have killed yourself.’”
The couple were together for 23 years after meeting at a Smash Hits concert in Newcastle in the mid-90s. Lisa was an aspiring pop star in Deuce and Ant was performing with Dec as PJ & Duncan. He
proposed in Dubai. The pair tied the knot in 2006, at St Nicholas’ Church in Taplow, Bucks. Dec was best man. Ant later told how the couple struggled to conceive, which put a strain on the relationship for a number of years.
He told Radio Times magazine in 2013: “There’s a rumour that we do everything together and I’m holding off having kids till Dec finds himself Mrs Right.
“I love that idea, but I’m afraid it’s not true. Lisa and I would love to have kids. We’re trying. It’s tougher than you think when you get a bit older.” And the pair spend months apart due to his TV work.
Ant is on the road with Britain’s Got Talent at the start of the year, and on Tuesday will be with Dec in Blackpool for the new series. There is also his Saturday Night Takeaway and he ends the year with more than a month in Australia for I’m A Celebrity. Last year he spent further time away from Lisa with Dec in Ireland as they made a documentary for ITV. The source said: “They spent up to three months of the year apart and it was fine when things were good because they would rush back or make time for each other but that hasn’t happened in recent times and they became more distant.
“Then when he came out [of rehab] he never returned home and it was the beginning of the end.” Lisa has not spoken publicly about the marriage since her husband went into rehab.
Although when allegations they had split surfaced in mid-November she wrote: “I’m not estranged.”
She hoped there was still a chance of reconciliation at the time.
Lisa did post a picture on Twitter giving a clue as to how she felt about last year, throwing out a bag of rubbish labelled 2017 while holding her nose.
Dec was yesterday spotted out in London walking his dog with wife Ali. The situation is difficult for the couple as Ant has confided in his pal to help him over his crisis, while Ali has been friends with Lisa for more than a decade.
A source added: “It is very tricky for Dec and Ali, they have been vital in trying to keep everyone as happy as possible when emotions are running high.”
Ant and Lisa tried to make it work but it was over as a marriage for months SOURCE LAST NIGHT ON COUPLE’S PAINFUL DIVORCE