Jermaine Jenas has split from his wife Ellie Penfold, six months after he was sacked by the BBC following a sexting scandal.
The former footballer was dropped by the channel in August amid allegations of workplace misconduct after sending explicit texts to two female employees.
While at the time Jermaine said he and Ellie, who married in 2011, hoped to work through their marital troubles, she took to Instagram on Tuesday to reveal their marriage was over.
In a statement shared on social media, she wrote: ‘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. Thank you, Ellie.’
Since Jermaine’s BBC sacking, Ellie had not shared a snap with him on Instagram, and he was noticeably absent from images she posted of her children celebrating Christmasin December.
Jermaine Jenas has split from his wife Ellie Penfold, months after he was sacked by the BBC following a sexting scandal (pictured in July 2024)
Ellie shared a statement on Tuesday confirming that her marriage to Jermaine was over, after she was left ‘raging’ by the sexting scandal in August
In November, Jermaine shared a gushing tribute to his wife as she marked the launch of her personal care brand Preppy, despite their marital woes.
He wrote on Instagram: ‘Couldn’t be more proud of this woman, 3 years ago you had a great idea and this week you got to make that idea a reality.
‘Starting a brand is hard enough, but working hard and being committed to getting it done even with all the BULLS**T I’ve dragged you through recently should be enough evidence that you’ll make it a success.’
Ellie was left ‘raging’ and kicked the former Tottenham Hotspur star out of their bedroom at their £1 million family home when it was revealed he had sent explicit messages to two members of staff at the BBC.
Jermaine confessed to lying to Ellie, who describes herself as a ‘wife’ and mother’ in her Instagram bio, during a family holiday to Spainwhen he sneaked off to talk to his bosses about the messages.
Although Jermaine admitted sending the texts, he insisted they were exchanged between two consenting adults and that he has done nothing illegal.
He told The Sun: ‘We’ve not really spoken properly since. She’s absolutely raging.’
Jenas who shares two daughters and a son with Ellie, said that the couple were no longer sharing a bedroom at their family home in Hertfordshire.
The former footballer was dropped by the channel in August amid allegations of workplace misconduct after sending explicit texts to two female employees
Jermaine married Ellie in 2011, and they have three children together, while he also has a daughter from a previous relationship
Ellie had not shared any snaps with Jermaine on Instagram since he was sacked by the BBC six months ago (pictured last week)
Last week, Jermaine shared a gallery of snaps from his trip to the Middle East for the Riyadh boxing season
He added: ‘It’s just about the children right now. It’s the school holidays and they’re trapped in the house because photographers are outside my house.’
Jenas praised his wife as an ‘amazing mother’, saying she is ‘kind’ and just ‘needs some time’.
The former England star admitted sending the texts but insists he has done nothing illegal.
He denied ever sending indecent images or videos and said the messages were between consenting adults, one of whom ‘made it clear she was interested’.
However Jenas said he is ‘ashamed’ and ‘deeply sorry’ as he apologised for the scandal.
He revealed he was fired in an excruciating video call – while he was on a family holiday in Marbella, Spain, with his wife and their three children.
Jenas slammed this as ‘grim’, having to ‘sit there and listen to what you’ve said’ as four people on the Zoom call read out his inappropriate text messages.
He said he went on to lie to his wife after being informed of the allegations to ‘find a way out of this mess’.
Ellie broke her silence on the scandal at the launch of her new personal care brand Preppy in November.
She said: ‘My only focus has been on our children and building my brand Preppy. Now I just want to move forward.
‘Naturally this has been hard for me but my only concern has been our children and that will not change.’
The news of Jenas’ sacking came moments before he went live on air on talkSPORT radio. He returned to punditry work last month, saying on talkSPORT his conduct was ‘wildly inappropriate’.
He continued: ‘I made a mistake. It was a mistake that is something that me and my wife and my family have to deal with.
‘I think that the big thing here is that your career is one thing. I worked 10 years post-retirement from being a footballer and I can take it as far back as I want from starting from nothing to becoming a footballer to getting myself in a very fortunate position to work on television.
‘It’s a lot of hard work that you put into the job, but at the same time, it can be taken away from you like that. That’s one thing that I’ve recognised.
‘When it is taken away from you like that, the only people there for you is your family and friends and it’s the people that are really close to you. That’s what has been my biggest support system during this period of time.
‘Me and my wife have had some honest conversations. Me and my family have had some honest conversations and that’s who this is really between.
‘So moving forward, that’s where my focus is, making sure that my kids are okay, my wife is supported and that I’m continually working on improving myself.
Last month Jermaine returned to punditry work on talkSPORT, and said in an interview his behaviour was ‘wildly inappropriate’
‘Essentially this is about me looking inwards, making some improvements and coming back a better person.’
Just three months before his sacking, Jenas posted a gushing message about his wife on Instagram as he wished her happy birthday.
He wrote: ‘Happy birthday Mrs j i love you… we love you more than you could ever imagine.. you deserve the world x.’
However, Jenas spoke to MailOnline about the strained relationship he once had with wife Ellie, saying they argued about the amount of time he spent socialising after filming for The One Show.
He also admitted that the pair had to work through their differences and that the couple enjoyed separate holidays.
Jenas said: ‘I would say up until about five years ago it was quite stressful for us both.
‘There was a lot of competing going on in our relationship and a lot of ‘you get to do this’ or ‘you don’t do this’.
‘It was a lot to do with the kids and the fact that I had this new career starting and I was out and about and meeting new people and going to shows… it was all glitzy but for my wife it was like nappies, milk… I am a very hands-on dad and I’m always trying to help but still she wasn’t getting that fulfilment in her own life.
‘I had to address it and over the last five years I always say to her once or twice or year just go away for three days or something.
‘In the summer and coming up now she will usual go to Ibiza with her mates and have a good blowout and that’s for her not to have to wake up or think about the kids, and I’ve just come back from Scotland playing three days of golf and she will say the same to me, go and play golf, relax, enjoy yourself.’
The got engaged in 2009 and tied the knot two years later in 2011. They live in a £7million house in Hertfordshire and together they have two daughters, Geneva and Olivia, plus baby son Jacob.
Jenas also has an older daughter Sancha, 16, from a previous relationship who lives in the United States with her mother.