Ashley Banjo and his wife Francesca met when they were just 16 years old (Picture: Getty Images)
Ashley Banjo’s wife Francesca uploaded cute Christmas photos as they celebrated the holidays together despite announcing their separation.
The Dancing on Ice judge, 34, spent 16 years with Francesca – who he married in 2015 – before sharing news of their parting ways just days before Christmas.
Now, posting adorable family photos to her Instagram, the mother-of-two revealed she was spending the special day with her estranged husband.
The pair offered fans a glimpse of their co-parenting style, proving their focus would remain on their two children, Rose, three, and Micah, two.
Accompanied by the caption: ‘December photo dump #december #christmas #family [sic]’, Francesca showed Instagram how the family had been ringing in the festive season with a collection of happy snaps.
One photo pictured the Diversity dancer squeezing his little ones who perched on his lap with smiles all round.
Ashley and Francesca share two young children together (Picture: Instagram/@ashleybanjogram) (Picture:Francesca Banjo/Instagram)
The pair announced they had decided to split 18 months ago a few days before Christmas (Picture: Francesca Banjo/Instagram)
Clutching toys in both of their hands, the children grinned for the camera on either side of their famous dad.
Other photos portrayed Francesca taking her daughter and son on a winter walk as well as a number of selfies and individual snaps of Rose and Micah as they enjoyed the festivities.
Underneath the cute gallery, a number of friends and family left outpourings of love for the foursome, including the wife of Ashley’s brother Jordan – Naomi Banjo – who commented with three red love hearts.
The former couple revealed news of their split on social media in a heartfelt statement that read: ‘After much thought and consideration we both feel now is the time to share some personal news.
The couple had been together for over a decade and met while in school (Picture: Francesca Banjo/Instagram)
Francesca uploaded a series of festive snaps to her Instagram over the holidays (Picture: Francesca Banjo/Instagram)
‘Nearly 18 months ago we took the difficult decision to separate. After being together for over 16 years, since we were teenagers, this is not a decision that has been taken lightly.
‘It has not been easy and the processing of the situation has not been fast by any means. But we feel that as we approach the new year it is time to share this news with others.’
The message continued: ‘Our main focus will always be our beautiful children. Every decision that has been made is to make sure we can continue as a loving family and give the very best of ourselves as parents.
‘Raising Rose and Micah in a healthy and happy environment is the most important thing to both of us.
‘Sometimes after so many years people just move in different directions, but we do so lovingly and we continue to try and be both the best parents possible and the best of friends to each other.
‘We have always been private with our personal lives, so we kindly ask that everyone please continue to respect that privacy. We won’t be making any further comment on the situation.’
Signing off the announcement, the high school sweethearts left fans with: ‘Thank you… Lots of Love Ash and Chess x.’
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They decided to separate 18 months ago.
