SNOOKERED
The livid ex-wife who accuses snooker legend Stephen Hendry of cheating on her with a ‘silly girl’ half his age, deserting the family and squandering their fortune -- leaving her well and truly...
HE WAS the undisputed king of snooker, seeing off established players such as Jimmy White and Steve Davis while barely out of school. And last week, Stephen Hendry showed that, even six years after retiring, he is still a highly recognisable sportsmen as he did the obligatory round of television and radio appearances to promote his new autobiography. Yet for one woman, that sphere of adulation has a very hollow ring.
Sitting in the substantial home in Scotland she once shared with the BBC and ITV pundit, his ex-wife Amanda paints a less palatable portrait of Hendry – one of a man whose vanity, selfishness and adultery destroyed their marriage.
Indeed, their protracted divorce proceedings raised more questions than answers. Despite Hendry’s extraordinary sporting success and multi-millionpound winnings, forensic accountants have tried – and failed – to find any trace of a fortune, leaving his perplexed wife, the mother to his two sons, devastated and, she claims, destitute.
Today, Amanda has been compelled to speak out for the first time publicly about what she sees as Hendry’s self-serving attempts to promote his book at the expense of his family.
Amanda – who shared his life for nearly 30 years, 19 of them as his wife – told the Mail on Sunday in an exclusive interview: ‘I thought we had the perfect marriage and I trusted him more than anyone in the world. It wasn’t until I filed for divorce that I discovered the true extent of his betrayal.
He sacrificed his family for his career. It’s always about him
‘Our entire time together, Stephen told me everything was invested in trusts and pensions so that we could enjoy the benefits once he retired. We did not live a lavish lifestyle, taking just one holiday a year, and I had my own money, including a large inheritance from my parents.
‘I had no idea what he was worth at any stage but I thought we must have a lot because we never spent any of it.’
The story is all the sadder as in his book Hendry, 49, revealed that the child they lost in 2003 had been an IVF baby – something Amanda hadn’t even shared with her own family.
And his bald statement of hoping to have a strong relationship with their two remaining sons, Blaine, 21, and Carter, 14, has left her seething as she claims he has seen them rarely since he walked out of the family home in December 2013.
Ironically, last Tuesday, as he launched his nationwide book tour, the snooker star’s route from Aberdeen to Glasgow brought him within two miles of the house he previously shared with his family.
‘One of the last things – and the cruellest – he said before he walked out on us was that he didn’t want to live with us any longer, that he wanted to be on his own and he couldn’t help how he felt.
‘I was so taken aback, I made him repeat it. He said the same thing three times. It’s the biggest hurt that he’s caused.
‘I really thought that no matter what he had done to me, he could have been a real part of his children’s lives. But we’ve waited five years for him to have time in his selfish life for them and in my view that has never really happened. It’s unforgivable.’
Hendry first turned professional at the age of 16 in 1985, shortly after meeting Amanda at a holiday camp where he and her sister were competing in snooker tournaments.
The nature of the sport and his incredible success – seven world titles, his first in 1990 aged 21 against Jimmy White – inevitably meant that he spent long periods away from home as his sons were growing up. But the knowledge that a professional sportsman’s career is time-limited, coupled with frequent promises that they would all spend time together once he retired, saw Amanda managing everything at home without complaint.
Amanda, 50, a showjumper who married Hendry in June 1995, added: ‘While he was playing and winning, we were very happy. We had a great life together. Everything was worked out around him. I looked after the children, my horses, everything about the house and he did his snooker.
‘It’s amazing what he achieved and he knew it. I didn’t mind the sacrifices because I knew it was only for a short time. He promised me it would be worthwhile. But he was selfish and it was all about his career. It took priority over everything and everyone. He absolutely sacrificed his family for his career. He rarely cancelled anything to be there for us, not even when it was an exhibition match. It will always be about him. He’s a narcissist.’ Describing a man famous for his icy demeanour at the table, she says: ‘He’s cold, he doesn’t care, which is why he’s been so successful at his sport.’ Following the birth of their eldest son, Blaine, in October 1996, the couple hoped to build on their family but despair
set in as years passed and Amanda failed to conceive again. Turning to IVF, a move they kept secret from family and friends, they were finally successful on the fourth attempt.
Seven months into the pregnancy, however, with Hendry away at a tournament, Amanda contacted her doctor after failing to feel any movement from the baby. Tests confirmed her worst fear – that her son, later named Joseph, had died.
Recalling the moment in his book, Me And The Table, Hendry describes how he was given the devastating news in a phone call from his tearful wife following a World Championships defeat.
He writes: ‘I go home immediately, numb with pain and sorrow. Since he was born, Mandy and I have hoped to give Blaine a brother or sister. We had three tries with IVF and the disappointment and heartbreak increased with each “not pregnant” result.’
Two days later, Amanda had to go through labour to deliver her son. The double cruelty of those hours will never leave her. She says: ‘As I waited to give birth in hospital, I switched on the TV to keep my mind off what was about to happen – on came an episode of Loose Women and, to my horror, they were discussing me losing my baby and how awful it was. I felt betrayed about his leaking my IVF treatment in his book. It was all about poor him, no one else. It was our secret. I can’t believe he would write about it.’ The following year, to the couple’s delight, she gave birth to another boy, Carter. But by now Hendry’s period of extraordinary sporting dominance was starting to fade and family life was suffering.
Amanda says: ‘It was all fine until he started losing, then everything began to go downhill. He became very low and started talking about retirement. I remember saying: “We’ll be fine. We can survive, we can tighten our belts.”’
Within weeks of his retirement in 2012, however, she noticed small changes: ‘Suddenly he was going to the gym, cycling and using sun beds. He’d never bothered doing anything like that before. He had always been physically unfit – he looked a bit like an egg on legs.
‘He also started seeing a life coach, which cost us £30,000, who told him how fabulous he was and that he was a free spirit who could do what he liked. He was like a completely different person. He even started smoking cigars.
‘I know it sounds naïve, but I loved him with all my heart and trusted him completely. I now realise what a fool I’ve been. I had no idea he was cheating on me.’
In his book, Hendry has confirmed that he ended his career with debts and not in the healthy financial state he had intended.
Amanda says: ‘One day he suddenly said he needed money, but couldn’t get it from his investments because they were all tied up. I could see how down he was and I thought of selling my stables to raise the cash. Much as horses were my life, so was he, so I didn’t see the point in holding on to them at his expense. So, I sold the lorry used to transport my horses for £28,000 and he used it to pay off bills.
‘It was followed by £13,000 for my American barn I used to keep my horses in. He then told me we needed to cash in our pensions, which surprised me, but I didn’t really know anything about it and he said his management company had told him it was fine to do that.
Hendry maintains these decisions were jointly taken in the marriage, and Amanda agrees. But she adds: ‘I never questioned anything because I trusted him. I just signed the paperwork. Now I realise how very stupid I was, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. I had no idea by then that he was already in a relationship with another woman and living the high life.’
Hendry has confirmed he met Lauren Thundow, a former children’s entertainer almost half his age, when she was selling merchandise after a snooker exhibition.
Hendry, who lives with Miss Thundow, finally confessed to his wife days after their 18th wedding anniversary, while they were returning from a shopping trip.
Amanda says: ‘He was driving the car. He didn’t even pull over. He’d been cold and distant and I wanted to know what was wrong.
‘I was worried he was ill or he was fretting about money. He told me: “I love you and I’m in love with you, but there’s someone else.” It was like getting hit by a train.
‘When he told me she was 23, I was stunned. Never in a million years did I think he would cheat on me – and with a silly girl. I was so angry and hurt. Just a few days earlier, on our anniversary, he’d sent me a lovely bouquet of flowers with a card, which read: “Still love you after all these years.” I discovered afterwards, that he’d just been with Lauren that morning when he called me to wish me happy anniversary. I felt sick. After 30 years of promising me he would be with us when he retired, he checked out without a care. I tried to give him another chance for the sake of our children.’ Sadly, she says, it didn’t work out.
‘It’s been a tough five years since he left us,’ she admits. ‘It completely floored me. I lost two stone and there were times I suddenly understood why people might want to end their lives when it all becomes too much. But I’m a strong woman and I could never do that to my sons.
‘I had to go on for them. If it wasn’t for my family, I don’t know where I would be now. I’ve managed to move forward and rebuild my life and I will never lose my independence again.’PA spokesman for Hendry said: ‘In Stephen’s book and in his interviews he has made it clear that without the support of his ex-wife and his family he wouldn’t have been able to pursue his successful career.’ He pays regular maintenance.’
Since last November, Amanda has been the proud owner of a small boutique close to the family home, funded by the sale of her horse, Ruby, and her wedding china.
She says the supreme irony came when she tried to sell her engagement ring – a single diamond – to help establish her business.
‘It’s the only substantial thing Stephen ever bought me and he told me it cost £25,000,’ she says.
‘But when I tried to sell it last year to fund my boutique, I was told by five separate jewellers it was flawed and only worth a fifth of that. I was shocked, but why was I not surprised?’
It was all fine until he started losing. Then it went downhill After 30 years of promises, he checked out without a care