I was Chizzy’s sacrifice. Her career came first, before anything... before me
My Ruth is
THE SECRET EX-HUSBAND OF
Computer engineer Henry Anang was heartbroken when Chizzy – who he met while working at a cinema – ended the marriage after less than two years.
Holby City star Chizzy, 43, has never spoken publicly of having a husband.
Instead she curiously said she enjoyed two long-term relationships and was devastated the last one did not end up in marriage.
But today we can exclusively reveal the pair exchanged vows at a register office in April 1998.
Henry, 53, told how Chizzy – surgeon Mo Effanga in the TV drama – had “no time” for love.
He said: “She’s a career-minded person. She wasn’t ready to settle down. She was too focused on her career, not on our marriage.
“She didn’t have time. It wasn’t a good thing to stop someone who’s so focused – so I encouraged her.
“Our relationship, at its best, was so beautiful. It had no problems, except her career was her main attention and one has to sacrifice, otherwise you become selfish.
SHAKE
“So the sacrifice was our relationship. I was a sacrifice, but I understood. It was sad but she was very driven, she wanted success.”
Last night 10 million viewers saw Chizzy dance the foxtrot while the week before she overcame a wardrobe malfunction during the cha cha cha.
Henry did not realise she was on Strictly until a workmate mentioned it. And he says pals are stunned when he says he was Chizzy’s husband.
Henry added: “When I tell people at work they shake their heads, they can’t believe it. They say, ‘wait, she does that and you work here?’
“Last week I went into work and one of my team-mates told me she was on Strictly Come Dancing. I said, ‘seriously? You’re kidding me’.
“Then I saw the picture and saw her doing the foxtrot or whatever it is, but she’s good.”
Chizzy split with Henry in 2000 and two years later won the BBC’S Urban Sketch Showcase talent initiative.
A decade later she landed her dream role in BBC1 drama Holby City after small parts in Eastenders and Hollyoaks, plus appearances on The Inbetweeners and kids’ TV shows.
Henry, meanwhile, lives in a terraced house in East London and has remarried. He went on: “She’s a very strongwilled person. When she makes up her mind to do something she goes for it.” He told how he met Chizzy in the 1990s while working at Warner Brothers cinema in London’s West End. She was his supervisor, 10 years younger and did stints on the confectionery counter and in the box office. Henry recalls how Chizzy wanted to be a forensic detective – but was afraid of blood. He added: “Funny to now think of her in Holby City.” Her dedication to acting saw her attend a string of drama courses. Henry said: “When I met her Henry & Chizzy wed in 1998 but it was soon over she was very busy and if that’s what she wanted, I tried to encourage that. But it meant our relationship came second.”
Bubbly Chizzy – paired with Pasha Kovalev on Strictly – has also told how she sacrificed love for fame.
She said earlier this year: “I’m the only single person among my friends and family. I’ve had two long-term romances – one of eight years and one of six years, which ended in heartbreak just before I joined Holby.
“I was convinced we were going to marry and live happily ever after. So I’m still looking for Mr Right.” Henry thinks Chizzy has never mentioned their marriage because she did not think it was a “real” one – and that despite tying the knot they never lived together. He RUTH Langsford has no chance of winning Strictly, according to her TV star hubby Eamonn Holmes. Eamonn, 57, reckons fellow This Morning host Ruth will last no more than six weeks. Eamonn