‘It can make a marriage stronger’

Former glamour model Nicola McLean, 39, dumped her footballer husband Tom Williams in

2014 after she accused him of cheating. The star said it made her feel the “lowest I’ve ever felt”, and told Closer the marriage was “dead”, adding, “There’s no going back for me”.

But Nicola and Tom – who share two sons – reconciled the following year and even renewed their wedding vows.

She believes a couple can work through an affair if both parties are willing to salvage the relationship. She says, “I’m not saying it’s easy, but if you choose to work through it as a couple and have total transparency, it can work. If that person loves you enough, they should be prepared to make you feel reassured. You’ve got to be able to have that conversation to know everything you want to know about the situation [the affair].

“It can sometimes make a marriage stronger, too, because it can make you more aware of any issues in the relationship.

“It very much depends on the situation and I don’t think you ever know what you’re going to do unless it happens to you. It’s not black and white. For some people, it can work; for others, it can’t as they find it too hard to forgive and move on. There’s no point staying with someone if you’re going to bring it up at every given opportunity. A lot of work has to be done but, for me, it’s not a total deal-breaker.

“I married for life when

I took my vows. If anyone thinks they’re not going to have a hard time in a marriage, they’re crazy.

There’s no plain sailing in a relationship. You’ll hit a rocky road at some point, but you can’t become the captain of a ship without riding the storm.”