Fresh heartbreak for Zoe
Friends say she couldn’t see a future with boyfriend Michael
She’s had her fair share of heartache, with a broken marriage and the tragic death of her boyfriend Billy Yates, who took his own life nearly three years ago. And now Zoe Ball’s two-year relationship with construction firm boss Michael Reed is reportedly over.
According to sources, the TV presenter called it quits after deciding he was not a “keeper”. “Zoe knew deep down the relationship wasn’t going anywhere,” a source close to the It Takes Two presenter said last week. “She enjoyed her time with Michael, but came to the conclusion he wasn’t a keeper – despite him believing they were getting serious. There were certain things she grew uncomfortable with, such as him wanting to become a model and actor. He signed up to an agency, which caused some of her close circle of friends to worry he could be using her celebrity status to enhance his own career.”
Zoe began dating Michael, 49, in December 2017, seven months after cameraman Billy’s tragic death. At the time, friends said he had finally “put a smile back on her face” and had helped to give Zoe some stability. Around the same time, she swapped her Brighton party pad – next door to the home of her ex-husband Norman Cook, whom she amicably split from in 2016 after 17 years of marriage – for a country cottage in a quiet Sussex village, with Michael soon moving in to join her. But, according to insiders, it became clear to Zoe – who’s mum to Woody, 18, and Nelly, nine – that things between herself and Michael had run their course. Add to that all her many work commitments, plus Zoe’s ongoing grief over losing Billy in such devastating circumstances, and you can see why something inevitably had to give.
On the anniversary of Billy’s death earlier this year, Zoe, 48, told her Radio 2 listeners, “The longer the time without them, the more you miss their ways and their voice in your life. Even though, of course, they’ll never leave your heart.” Then, months later, she paid tribute to Billy on his birthday, writing on Instagram, “Your star still shines the brightest up there.”
“Zoe’s had so much to deal with,” an insider revealed. “Sadly, a new relationship was too much… she’s happily single and focusing on her kids and work.” n