Queen of Clean:
Lynsey Crombie was pregnant with twins when she learned the shocking truth about the man she loved…
“My exhusband was a paedophile – but cleaning kept me sane”
Over the past six years, Lynsey Crombie has earned her crown as Queen Of Clean. She’s appeared on countless TV shows and has more than 100,000 Instagram followers, who can’t get enough of her housework hacks.
But Lynsey’s passion for cleaning stems from something sinister – after the shocking discovery that her ex-husband was a paedophile.
Lynsey was married to her ex-partner, David*, for less than a year and the pair were expecting twins together, when he was convicted of gross indecency with young girls.
The now mum of three was sickened and ashamed by her ex-husband’s horrific actions, but vowed to turn her life around – and says she couldn’t be prouder of her success.
Lynsey, 39, who runs a professional cleaning company and lives in Peterborough with her twins, Mollie and Olivia, 15, her new husband, Rob, 40, and their son, Jake, 11, says, “Knowing that I’d been married to a paedophile made me feel dirty and I wanted to clean everything around me. I never stopped mopping, hoovering or dusting and used it as a distraction from my pain. Cleaning became a form of therapy. I couldn’t be happier.”
DEVASTATION
Lynsey met her ex, David, in a bar in 2001, when she was 23.
She says, “He was seven years older than me and a wealthy businessman. He had property and flash cars and I was swept off my feet. It felt like the most amazing relationship – we were both career driven and he was charming and popular, so we had lots of fun together. There was nothing I didn’t like about him and I quickly fell in love.”
Within just six months, Lynsey discovered she was pregnant.
She says, “It wasn’t planned. However, when I had a miscarriage at eight weeks, I was devastated and it made us both realise how much we both wanted children – so we started to try again.”
Sadly, over the next year, the couple suffered two more miscarriages. So, after getting married in October 2002, they decided to move to David’s hometown in Newcastle for a fresh start. Lynsey fell pregnant with twins just a month later and the couple were thrilled. But in May 2003, everything changed.
Lynsey says, “I heard a banging on my door at 5am and was shocked to find the police on my doorstep. They told me David needed to go to the station, but wouldn’t say why. I was 28 weeks pregnant and in complete shock. David was arrested and escorted out of the house. I had no idea what was going on.”
Lynsey wasn’t allowed any contact with David while he was in custody. But he returned home two days later and told Lynsey that he had been arrested for masturbating in his car while parked up on the street.
She says, “He said he was sexually frustrated because I was too heavily pregnant to sleep with him. I was sick with disgust and broke up with him immediately. And four days later, I went into early labour – due to stress. David wasn’t at the birth and Mollie and Olivia were both tiny – weighing just 2lbs 11oz and 2lbs 1oz respectively. Amazingly, Olivia was fine, but Mollie had a hole in her heart and needed extra oxygen.”
SORDID SECRETS
The twins were in hospital for eight weeks, but when Lynsey brought them home, she was faced with even more devastating revelations.
She says, “Child services got involved because of David’s arrest and told me that not only had David been performing a sexual act in his car, but he’d been parked outside a primary school at the time. He’d even followed 11-year- old girls with
his trousers down – trying to entice them in. He’d also been in prison for similar offences twice before.
“My head was spinning. I couldn’t believe that I’d married such a monster. I’d had no idea and couldn’t believe that David had kept his sordid past a secret from me. It terrified me and I was determined to protect my daughters.”
So, Lynsey called her parents and asked them to help her move back to Peterborough – where her cleaning obsession began.
She says, “I felt dirty having been near David and cut off all my hair because he’d touched it. I couldn’t stop cleaning and only stopped to feed Mollie and Olivia. Every day, I’d wheel the double buggy to the shops and load up with cleaning products. My hands were chapped and sore and I lost a lot of weight – dropping from 10st to 8st in a matter of months from all the cleaning and anxiety. At 5ft 10, I looked gaunt. Looking back, my behaviour may have seemed over the top, but it was my way of coping.”
BRIGHTER FUTURE
In November 2003, David appeared in court and was sentenced to three months in prison. Lynsey says, “I was too ashamed to go to the trial. I was just relieved he was out of our lives. I’ve always been open with the twins about their father, but they have no desire to meet him.”
When the twins were two, Lynsey got a job as a receptionist at a doctor’s surgery and started dating Rob, who was a medical rep. She fell pregnant with Jake in 2007 and knew her life was about to change for the better.
She says, “I had a healthy baby and a supportive husband, so my compulsive cleaning calmed down and I decided to channel my passion for housework into something positive. My friend worked in a retirement complex and said I could make some extra money by cleaning for the elderly people who lived there. I loved it and worked two days a week. I also started Tweeting my cleaning tips and favourite products, and gained a loyal following. People seemed interested in what I was doing so, after speaking to friends who worked in the media, I eventually plucked up the courage to email shopping channel Ideal World, as I was a massive fan of the show. I asked if I could do some work on the cleaning section of the programme. To my surprise, they said yes. I couldn’t believe my luck!”
BOOMING CAREER
From that point, Lynsey’s cleaning career blossomed. Alongside appearing in multiple TV shows – including Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners – she also created a hugely popular Instagram account. She says, “I downloaded Instagram in November 2016, to keep an eye on what Mollie and Olivia were doing online. One day, I uploaded a photo of my favourite cleaning products and it received hundreds of likes. I was amazed and started researching how to grow my following. I launched my own blog and emailed companies asking if I could advertise their products on my page. I was the only Uk-based cleaner doing this so I had a unique selling point. By July 2017, I had 30,000 followers and was getting paid for my posts. I was thrilled and am now earning the most I ever have.”
But Lynsey has never let fame stand in the way of her love of cleaning. She says, “I still clean for about four hours a day as a form of self-help – it’s what saved my sanity all those years ago. The results are instant and it’s deeply satisfying. My kids also love cleaning and get involved whenever they can. Now the future is looking bright. Some people go jogging to clear their minds – but a mop and bucket saved my life.” ● How To Clean Your House And Tidy Up Your Life by Lynsey Crombie, Queen Of Clean, is out 21 March. Follow Lynsey @lynsey_queenofclean
❛ MY HEAD WAS SPINNING – I COULDN’T BELIEVE I’D MARRIED SUCH A MONSTER ❜