Divorced Cracknell gets cosy with student, 30, he’s met at Cambridge
HE was granted a divorce from m estranged wife Beverley Turner r on the grounds of his ‘unreasonable behaviour’ this week.
But James Cracknell, 47, had d seemed in good spirits as he attended the Henley Royal Regatta a with fellow Cambridge student Jordan Connell days earlier.
The former Olympic rower has reportedly struck up a close friendship with New York-born n Miss Connell, 30.
The finance student was seen n with Cracknell several times at the event and affectionately put her hand on his stomach as they posed for a photograph with friends.
She appears to be a member of f the Cambridge Cougars cheerleading team and lists it among her r interests on her Instagram profile,
‘They have become very close’
alongside ‘finance’. The pair are thought to have become close since the breakdown of his marriage as Miss Connell has been a ‘ support’ to him.
‘They have become very close and since his marriage break-up there are few people who would deny him m the support of an attractive young g woman,’ a source told MailOnline.
‘The end of James’s marriage to Bev has been amicable and friendly but there’s always going to be regret and maybe loneliness when something like that happens, so it’s great he’s going his own way.’
On Monday District Judge Anne Hudd concluded that the 17-year marriage between the Olympic rower and TV presenter Miss Turner, 45, had broken down irretrievably during a hearing at the Central Family Court in London.
She granted the couple, who have three children, a decree nisi and said that a decree absolute could be granted next month. Court paperwork showed Miss Turner had petitioned for divorce on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour, which he did not oppose.
Miss Turner has been vocal in her criticism of Cracknell for choosing to return to study at Cambridge and become the oldest athlete to compete in the Boat Race, which he did this April.
‘I wouldn’t want my children to view such an exit from familial responsibilities as something to aspire to,’ she wrote in a piece for The Times. Cracknell hit back on Instagram, claiming the break-up had been ‘a long time coming’ and had nothing to do with his Boat Race ambitions or the brain injury he suffered after a bike crash in 2010 that affected his personality.
The pair later backtracked to insist they were still friends as they posed together in a photo on social media. Miss Turner even said their relationship was ‘proof that “nofault divorce” is much needed’.