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Jermaine Jenas‘s wife has admitted the past few months have been ‘incredibly difficult’ after her BBC star husband was sacked amid a sexting scandal.
Former Tottenham Hotspur and England midfielder Jenas, 41, was dismissed after sending explicit texts to two female employees at the broadcaster, where he worked on Match Of The Day and The One Show.
Jenas revealed his wife, Ellie – with whom he shares three young children – was ‘absolutely raging’ after finding out about the messages and had kicked him out of the bedroom they share at their £1million family home.
He confessed to lying to her during a family holiday in which he snuck off to have a Zoom call with BBC bosses over his inappropriate messages.
Ellie, who has almost 14,000 followers on Instagram, had remained silent on social media in the weeks after Jenas was sacked.
But she appeared in public on Tuesday for the launch of her new business venture, Preppy Skin, a grooming brand aimed exclusively at the under-16s.
Addressing the scandal, Ellie, who was seen without her wedding ring, admitted the past few months had been ‘incredibly hard’ for her and her family.
She added her ‘only focus has been on our children’ and the launch of the grooming brand and was keen ‘to move forward’.
Jermaine Jenas, 41, was sacked by the BBC, where he worked on Match Of The Day and The One Show, earlier this year after sending explicit texts to two female employees
The One Show host, pictured at Wimbledon this year with wife Ellie Penfold, who has admitted the past few months have been ‘incredibly difficult’ after her husband was sacked by the BBC
Jermaine Jenas, 41, pictured with his wife Ellie Penfold. He admitted she was ‘absolutely raging’ after finding out about the messages and had kicked him out of their bedroom
Ellie told the Sun at the Battersea launch event on Tuesday: ‘Naturally this has been hard for me but my only concern has been our children and that will not change.’
‘Now I just want to move forward.’
She added that Jermaine had been ‘supportive’ of her decision to create the brand and is ‘excited’ for what it holds for her in the future.
Ellie appeared at the launch event with two of the couple’s three children and her business partner Steph Leggit.
She said her and Steph had been working on the brand for three years, having first come up with the idea after giving birth to her youngest son Jacob.
Ellie and Jermaine have been married for 13 years, having tied the knot in 2011.
They live in a £1million 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.
Jenas with his ex-model wife Ellie Penfold (pictured) at an event in Hyde Park in 2009
The former England international pictured with his wife of 13 years, Ellie Penfold, at Wimbledon in 2024
The couple tied the knot in 2011 and live in a house in Hertfordshire (pictured above)
Jenas was let go by the Beeb after women complained about his workplace conduct and a junior member of staff – said to have been previously impressed by the star – raised concerns over alleged flirty texts.
The corporation acted ‘swiftly and decisively’ because ‘the BBC cannot be seen to be slow to take action’, a source claimed.
The married star insisted he did nothing illegal and the messages were between consenting adults, one of whom he said made clear she was interested. He denied ever sending indecent images or videos.
In a lengthy interview with the Sun following his sacking, the presenter revealed how he and Ellie had been holidaying in Marbella, Spain, with their children when the BBC contacted him.
He then came clean to his wife that he had been fired because she was expecting him to go to work on The One Show on Monday.
‘I just said, “I’ve been sacked from the BBC”. She said, “What for?”, and I said, “For sending text messages that weren’t appropriate to two girls”.’
Bosses at TalkSPORT and TNT Sports later followed suit in letting Jenas go, saying they were taking the allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ very seriously.
The radio station said he would no longer appear on the show in the ‘immediate future’ after finding out about the presenter’s BBC sacking just moments before he went live on air.
Jenas pictured on his last episode of the One Show in July 22 of this year alongside Alex Jones
TalkSPORT found out about Jermaine Jenas’s sacking just moments before he went live on air yesterday and say there are no plans for him to appear in the ‘immediate future’
Jermaine Jenas (left) pictured for the L’Oreal Wing Men campaign with Jamie Redknapp and Peter Crouch
Jenas had long been considered as one of the rising stars at the BBC and was previously touted by Gary Lineker himself as a future Match of the Day host.
Speaking to The Sun in 2021, Jenas admitted he would love to one day front the iconic football show, which fellow ex-Spurs star Lineker has hosted since 1999.
He said: In an interview with The Sun in October 2021, Jermaine said: ‘Match Of The Day is the biggest job on television, and if I ever got the opportunity of course I’d say yes.
‘When Gary decides to call it a day, I’m sure the BBC will have a look around and decide who’s the best fit for the job.’
Lineker has previously heralded Jenas as his ‘natural successor’.