Ant Mcpartlin’s in more hot water after his divorce court no-show
As Ant fails to turn up for divorce hearing
‘there isn’t one law for the famous… he has been told off’
After ending their 11-year marriage, Ant Mcpartlin is looking at having to share his vast £62million fortune with ex-wife Lisa Armstrong. But it’s not just the money they are fighting over. The couple’s chocolate Labrador Hurley – who they got in 2013 – is said to be the key issue in their settlement, with the pair battling it out over custody of the pup.
Lisa was granted a divorce last month on grounds of adultery and that Ant had become “intolerable to live with”. The estranged couple were both expected to attend a further divorce hearing last week, but only Lisa turned up – Ant was represented by his lawyers. The judge, Mr Justice Mostyn, criticised the TV presenter for not attending the hearing, saying, “Why is he not here? There isn’t one law for the famous and one for the rest of the community. The rules say he was supposed to be here – and that can be reported. He has been told off.”
Ant’s spokesperson hit back at the criticisms, claiming, “Ant was advised by his media barrister that he didn’t need to attend court today. There was absolutely no intent to disrespect the court.”
Instead of attending the divorce hearing, Ant was in fact walking Hurley with new girlfriend Anne-marie Corbett. The pair were pictured kissing and strolling across Wimbledon Common, with Ant occasionally stopping to kick a ball around for Hurley. Ant is often pictured out on walks with his trusty furry friend, and reports say that the 42 year old has credited the Labrador with helping him through his alcohol and drug abuse issues.
While spending time in rehab last year, it’s understood that, although Ant was not permitted to see any family or friends, Hurley was allowed into the centre to visit his owner.
However, Lisa is also known to be crazy about Hurley and often posts snaps of him to her social media. Almost half of her Instagram pictures have Hurley in them, often with a caption like, “My baby boy, miss him so much” or “So in love with my gorgeous boy”.
Since the couple announced their split in January this year, they have been sharing custody of Hurley – each getting the pooch for a week at a time. Hurley is said to be a large mitigating factor in the divorce settlement for Ant and Lisa and, while a leading divorce lawyer has revealed British courts are “very reluctant to get involved in the custody of pets”, it’s looking like there’s no other way. n