Shock twist! Ant Mcpartlin and Lisa Armstrong’s divorce papers reveal she’s not going down without a fight
If he wants a divorce, it’ll be on her terms
‘She won’t have negative stories told about her’
They’ve been locked in a bitter divorce battle for months, ever since he announced he was ending their marriage in January. But relations between Ant Mcpartlin and his estranged wife Lisa Armstrong have turned even uglier – with news that she’s filing for divorce on the grounds of his adultery, after he started a new relationship soon after they split.
And while Ant is said to be agreeing to Lisa’s terms – which are based on the technicality that he was still legally married when he began his romance with his former PA Anne-marie Corbett in March – insiders tell us that relations between the pair are very poor. Last week, reports claimed that, during the divorce talks, Ant had accused Lisa of bringing alcohol into their home and getting drunk in front of him while he battled his alcohol and prescription drug addictions. But according to insiders, she’s in no mood for this type of story.
“Lisa’s tired of the whole process, but she’s standing her ground,” a source close to the Strictly makeup artist tells heat. “In a perfect world, they would have stayed friends. But she found out he was dating Anne-marie, which crushed her. She wanted to keep things civilised, but then the claims about her drinking came out, which pulled the rug from under her feet. She just wishes they could get this done on good terms. She doesn’t want things to turn any nastier.”
While Ant, 42, and Lisa, 41, split at the beginning of the year, they’re only now thought to be close to reaching an agreement. Once that’s settled, they’ll finally submit the divorce papers to the
courts. According to our sources, Ant won’t contest adultery, because he’s keen for a quickie divorce, so he can move on with Annemarie, and is hoping to placate Lisa by accepting blame. She, meanwhile, is said to feel vindicated, after being portrayed in a bad light compared to Ant’s nice-guy image. But now, with reports saying he had considered citing her “unreasonable behaviour” in the divorce papers, claiming she’d boozed in front of him while he tried to recover, tensions are high yet again. “Lisa’s told friends she won’t sit back and have negative stories told about her in the press,” our insider continues. “She’s sick of this –she’ll just be glad when this whole episode is over for good and she can get on with her life.”
Despite keeping herself busy with Strictly and posting behind-the-scenes selfies, Lisa’s been unable to avoid the press attention given to Ant and Anne-marie. Last week, the couple were pictured sharing a kiss while walking Hurley – Ant and Lisa’s dog (above) – which, we’re told really rubbed salt into Lisa’s wounds. After all, the beloved Labrador is at the centre of their split battle, as well as Ant’s £62million fortune.
As for Lisa, we’re told, “She’s made it clear: don’t provoke her, because she has more fight to give.” Our insider adds, “She wants everyone to know that the breakdown of the marriage was not her fault.” ■