Celebrity divorce: THE Ex-wife’s survival guide
1. Sell the horse 2. Sell ALL the jewellery and wedding china 3. Channel the anger and bitterness into something more positive 4. Open a boutique 5. DON’T mention the other woman’s name – How Mandy Hendry is coping with her heartache split from snooker ac
THEY were childhood sweethearts and together for nearly 30 years before snooker legend Stephen Hendry had an affair with a younger woman. Now newly-divorced Mandy Hendry has made a clean break and launched her own fashion business close to their Perthshire home – even selling her horse Ruby to finance the venture.
The new shop – touchingly named Ruby’s Boutique – has had a steady stream of new clientele since opening in Auchterarder.
Yesterday, friends of the snooker star’s former wife revealed it had been ‘a deep source of comfort to her’ that the community where she has made her home for more than two decades had shown her such loyalty during a turbulent period of her life.
It’s nearly five years since she was callously and publicly dumped by Hendry, now a BBC snooker pundit whose net worth from winnings and sponsorship has been widely reported at £10 million.
Now, however, it would appear Mrs Hendry has turned her feelings of rejection and betrayal into a positive force to move on with her life without him.
It is understood that, as well as Ruby, she has sold off all her jewellery and wedding china.
A close friend of Mrs Hendry, who met the snooker star when he was 16 and she was 17, told The Scottish Mail on Sunday: ‘She’s gone through a really tough time, awful in fact. But she’s loving her life now, making her own way. She’s enjoying not living in someone else’s shadow.’
Friends say the accomplished horsewoman, who is originally from Blackpool, Lancashire, painted and decorated the interior of the new boutique herself and begged, borrowed and used her initiative to turn out a stylish store befitting any she would have happily shopped in during her ‘previous life’ as the other half of one of the UK’s most popular snooker players.
The couple married in 1995 at Muthill Parish Church in Perthshire, 11 years after they met at a Pontin’s holiday camp in Wales.
Mrs Hendry’s sister Maria, a former world women’s snooker No 2, was competing in a tournament there, which also involved Hendry.
For many years, the media-shy couple lived a quiet but luxurious lifestyle near Gleneagles. But in December
I’ve been given a fresh start, I feel blessed – Mandy Hendry, right
2013, Hendry left the family home, which he shared with his wife and two sons, Blaine, then 17, and Carter, then eight – after confessing he was in a new relationship with Lauren Thundow, a former children’s theatre entertainer 20 years his junior.
The pair met while Hendry, who retired in 2012, was working on the Snooker Legends Tour in July 2013. He relocated to Berkshire, to set up home with her.
The divorce proceedings which followed have been long, bitter and protracted but a year ago the couple finally settled out of court.
Mrs Hendry has declined to comment on the divorce or her husband’s affair, other than to say previously: ‘Following Stephen’s retirement, I had been looking forward to spending more time as a family, watching our boys growing up together.
‘I am heartbroken that Stephen has made the decision to leave the marital home, relocate to England and pursue a new relationship with someone else.’
Yesterday, the close friend said: ‘He broke her heart and she probably won’t ever truly get over what he did. But the man she once loved more than anything is not the person everyone thinks he is.
‘They had a brilliant marriage and it was like being hit by a train when she found out he’d been having an affair. Within a heartbeat, he had everything he wanted and she was surplus to requirements.
‘But she’s a strong person and a survivor. She’s worked hard to pick herself up for her sons, whom she loves to bits, and she’s really proud of what she’s achieved. Nothing has been handed to her on a plate to make this happen. It frustrates her that people might think differently. She’s done it all herself and that feels really good.’
Hendry’s autobiography Me And The Table, about his 27-year career in snooker, is due to be published soon.
Born in South Queensferry, near Edinburgh, and brought up in Inverkeithing, Fife, he is regarded by fans and pundits alike as one of the greatest players of all time.
He is still the youngest person to become a professional snooker player at the age of 15, and at the age of 21, he became the youngest person to become world champion – a title he would go on to win a further six times.
The friend confirmed that Mrs Hendry, a successful showjumper who regularly competed on Ruby, had now sold the mare to launch her own business, adding: ‘It’s sad because she loves horses. They’ve been her life. When Stephen was away through snooker, she threw everything into her horses, buying them, schooling them, before selling them on.
‘But there can be quite a lot of travelling involved and she needs to be there for her boys now. She can’t afford to get injured working with a horse, so she thought she’d use her other interest – in clothes – and launch her own business.
‘She’s sold everything of value to try to make it work. Jewellery, including her engagement ring, and her wedding china. But when her mare Ruby went, she was devastated. She was such a good horse and they competed many times. ‘Mandy was crying her eyes out as she was driven away, but she’s gone to a good home now in Ireland. Given her emotional attachment to the horse, she thought it only fitting to name the boutique after her.’ Yesterday, when approached about her new venture, Mrs Hendry said: ‘People have been absolutely amazing and so kind, from family and close friends to the residents of Auchterarder. It’s like they are all willing me to succeed and it’s very much appreciated. I feel like I’ve been given a fresh start and I feel truly blessed.’