Ferne Cotton and Jesse Woods announced their shock split in an Instagram post on Friday, confirming they had called off their decade long marriage.
The pair met in 2011 while partying in Ibiza. They went on to marry in 2014, sharing two kids along the way. Jesse, who also has two children Arthur, 21, and Lola, 18, from his first marriage, is dad to Fearne’s kids, Rex, 11, and eight-year-old daughter Honey, reports the Mirror.
The duo announced they were ending their marriage, with Fearne sharing a heartbreaking message on Instagram, writing: “It is with a heavy heart that I let you all know that Jesse and I are ending our marriage. Our priority has been and always will be our children. We please ask that you respect the privacy of our family at this time.”
And despite the news coming as a shock, Fearne has been open in the past about the reality of marriage and caring for a young family. She previously revealed the pandemic played a part in them losing touch intimately.
Speaking to Alan Carr in 2021 on his Life’s A Beach podcast, Fearne admitted: “Sexy time hasn’t happened for so long in terms of me going anywhere. I think for me and my husband, booking into the local Travelodge would make us feel sexy at the moment.”
She said explained: “We have had no time alone because of the ridiculous pandemic but before all this craziness, Paris was our go-to. Not every weekend, maybe once a year. But it felt well special because it’s so chic and beautiful. It just has an air of something gorgeous, doesn’t it? I love it there.”
Fearne’s candid admission came two years after the couple had a screaming row in a park in 2019. The spat went on for two hours, with Fearne saying she and Jesse were left wondering “where the love had gone”, confessing they were worried it may not return.
Writing in Red Magazine, she recalled: “One blustery and grey day, this culminated in a screaming match in our local park, which lasted about two hours until we both broke and cried. Luckily, my husband is the most emotionally literate person, so we can be completely vulnerable in front of one another. In the midst of this gargantuan row, I think we both wondered where the love had gone and worried that it might not come back.”
Fearne often commented on their relationship in her column, telling her fans: “Love takes hard work – and no one wants to hear that.”
She continued: “This year, Jesse and I hit a rough patch – he was away, touring relentlessly, [with his band, Reef]. I was trying to keep my own career going while looking after our kids and we were both desperately clinging on to our marriage.”
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