Ellie Penfold, the wife of former BBC presenter Jermaine Jenas, has announced their split.
The former footballer, 42, and his wife Ellie were together for 16 years. The news comes seven months after Jenas was hit with accusations of workplace misconduct while working at the BBC.
It was claimed he ‘sent unsolicited texts to a female staff member at The One Show’ and Jenas was taken off the broadcaster’s presenting line up.
After being sacked from the BBC, Jenas apologised saying he had done ‘nothing illegal’ and that ‘inappropriate messages’ sent were ‘between two consenting adults’.
In a statement on her Instagram story, Ellie said: ‘I never imagined I would have to share something so personal with the public, but given the situation, I feel it’s necessary.
‘After 16 years together and 4 wonderful children, Jermaine and I have decided to part ways.
‘We will remain friends and continue to co-parent.
‘We kindly ask that you respect our children’s privacy during this challenging time.’
The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder and his wife, a model, were married for more than 13 years.
Last year the father-of-four was removed from the presenting team at Match Of The Day and The One Show following the complaints.
Before his sacking in August, Jenas had been a regular pundit on sports programmes and a presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live.
He had been considered a natural successor to replace Gary Lineker as host of Match Of The Day, who last year announced that he will step down as host of the football highlights programme at the end of this season in May.
Jenas returned to broadcasting on TalkSport radio last month after the outlet distanced itself from him in the wake of his departure from the BBC.
‘The last six, seven months have been extremely tough for myself and my family,’ Jenas said in an interview with TalkSport in February.
‘But it’s also been a really good opportunity to kind of take stock, have a good look at why you find yourself in these kind of situations, and start to have some honest conversations, really.
‘With yourself, with other people, people that are close to you, people that have been very supportive during this period of time and just kind of work your way back to a position where I can get back to doing what I love most.’
Jenas and Ellie got engaged in 2009 and married in 2011.
In a previous interview, Jermaine revealed how his wife was not attracted to his ‘cocky’ personality upon their first meeting.
‘She’s been a rock keeping the family going through tough times,’ he said.
‘It was love at first sight when I saw her, but not for her. She wasn’t impressed by this cheeky, cocky guy who thought she’d be bowled over when I drove up in my Ferrari.’
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On how his then-future wife gave him an ultimatum, he added to the Belfast Telegraph: ‘She actually made me get rid of the car because it was too noisy!
‘She’s told me she thought when we first met that I was a bit of an over-confident idiot, but I won her over finally.’
On her keeping him ‘down-to-earth’ during his football career, Jenas said: ‘She stabilised me, calmed me down, helped me grow up and mellow, and was totally supportive when everything was going downhill through my injuries.’
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They share three children: Geneva, Olivia, and Jacob. Jenas also shares another daughter, Sancha, with his first partner who lives in the US.
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