Adulterer Ant
His marriage ends in 30 seconds as ex-wife says he DID cheat – and made her life ‘intolerable’
ANT McPartlin’s 11- year marriage ended yesterday when he was granted a ‘quickie’ divorce from his estranged wife, after admitting adultery.
He was granted a decree nisi in less than 30 seconds after estranged wife Lisa Armstrong lodged her divorce application on the grounds of adultery.
Court documents showed Judge Alun Jenkins, sitting at the Central London Family Court, found ‘the respondent has committed adultery and that the petitioner finds it intolerable to live with the respondent’.
The ITV presenter, who has an estimated fortune of £62million, did not seek to defend the accusation, the papers showed.
It is thought the ‘adultery’ refers to the troubled entertainer’s new relationship with personal assistant Anne-Marie Corbett, which began when he and his wife were estranged but not divorced.
If neither party raises a case against the making of a decree absolute within six weeks, their divorce will be finalised.
Last night, Miss Armstrong, 41, appeared on Strictly Come Dancing spin-off show It Takes Two.
She was seen doing a make-up tutorial alongside a hairdresser.
‘Your turn to start afresh’
Neither side commented on the divorce yesterday but Miss Armstrong did ‘like’ a tweet sent to her which read: ‘Get ready to pull up your big girls pants tomorrow lovely lady cos its your turn to start afresh.’
Ahead of proceedings yesterday she also liked a photo message of a dog from a supportive fan which read: ‘ Amazing woman, this little fella has your back. Stay strong. Good things come to kind people.’
McPartlin, 42, who is one half of TV duo Ant and Dec, confirmed in January that he and Miss Armstrong, a make-up artist, were splitting following months of speculation about their relationship.
A statement at the time said: ‘In response to the recent speculation in the media, Ant is very sad to announce that, after 11 years, he is ending his marriage to Lisa McPartlin.
‘Ant asks for privacy at this difficult time, for both himself, Lisa and their immediate families. No further statement will be made.’
Despite the decree nisi, a dispute over the carve-up of assets could still occur.
The couple, who had spoken of their struggle to have children, met at a roadshow in Newcastle 23 years ago while Miss Armstrong was an aspiring pop star in Deuce. Last year, McPartlin who earns around £6.7million a year, entered rehab after struggling with a twoyear addiction to super- strength painkillers following a knee operation in 2015.
And in April he was banned from the road for 20 months and fined £86,000 for driving while more than twice the legal limit.
Miss Armstrong is said to be devastated by the TV star’s new relationship with Miss Corbett, 42, who was understood to have been helping McPartlin since his drinkdriving arrest.
The new couple recently enjoyed a romantic getaway to Florence, Italy, where they were pictured cuddling in the street and enjoying a late-night stroll.
Miss Armstrong claimed to have found out about her estranged husband’s new relationship only through media coverage and has criticised her former friend Miss Corbett on Twitter.
Earlier this year, McPartlin announced he is stepping back from TV commitments and will not co-host this year’s I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!
McPartlin will be replaced by Holly Willoughby, who will host the show alongside Donnelly from Australia later this year.
The presenter also announced he and Declan Donnelly had made a ‘joint decision’ to put Saturday Night Takeaway on hold next year as he takes a break from TV commitments until 2019.
However, he could win the best TV presenter title for Saturday Night Takeaway at the National Television Awards next year.
Neither party attended the hearing yesterday.