Helen Skelton was ‘in shock’ when she split from ex-husband Richie Myler (Picture: Dave J Hogan/Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
Helen Skelton has finally admitted in her new book that her ex-husband Richie Myler blindsided her when they split.
The former Countryfile host, 40, announced she and the England and Leeds Rhinos rugby star’s split in April last year, and their divorce was announced this summer.
The former couple share three children – Ernie, eight, Louis, six, and Elsie, 22 months.
Taking to Instagram to share the heartbreaking news – which came after eight years of marriage and just four months after they welcomed their third child together – the former Strictly contestant announced the split: ‘Very sad to say that Richie and I are no longer a couple.
‘He has left the family home. We will be doing our best to co parent our small children.’ She also posted two heartbroken emoji.
Following their split, the star’s ex welcomed a baby with his new partner 33-year-old Stephanie Thirkill, 33 – the daughter of rugby league club Leeds Rhinos president Andrew.
The pair have three children together (Picture: Instagram)
Their youngest child is just 22 months old (Picture: Michael McGurk/REX/Shutterstock)
Now, Helen has opened up in her new autobiography, In My Stride – out today – about the turbulent time, finally admitting her husband’s departure came as a big shock.
She wrote: ‘I was in shock. I know that following break-ups, people often say they didn’t see it coming and it sounds like a cliché, but that was me.’
Looking back, Helen was said to have feared work, children, and their house renovation project could have ‘consumed her’ and led her to miss ‘signs’ of her marriage not working. She also considered she might have just ‘ignored’ them.
It’s also been reported she struggled to tell her parents about the split, and kept it a secret until her dad paid her an unexpected visit and the truth came tumbling out.
Helen’s heartbreak led her to sign up for Strictly last year, and she was paired with partner Gorka Marquez, who she recalled asked her why did didn’t feel sexy.
She reportedly said: ‘He was asking a woman with three children under six, whose husband had just left her and was with another woman, TO BE SEXY.
‘I thought, ‘Who would feel good about themselves in that scenario?’.’
But the show grew her confidence, and eventually Helen performed a boss routine which gave her – what her choreographer called – a ‘f*** you’ moment.
Richie and Helen were married for eight years before their split (Picture: Instagram)
Shortly after, the rugby player announced he and the daughter of Leeds Rhinos president, Stephanie Thirkill, were expecting a child (Picture: Instagram)
According to he publication, Helen said: ‘We had found a dance which let me own my own moment and be the boss.’
The Strictly finalist had been hosting her own Sunday morning show on BBC Radio 5 Live for a year, until she announced her departure in August.
Keeping it real, Helen explained that she was struggling to juggle the gig alongside her other presenting work and looking after three kids as a single mum.
Around the same time, Helen admitted she felt ‘guilty’ over beginning to date again.
‘Helen’s family and friends encouraged her to get back out there and she was happy to dip her toe back into the dating scene,’ a source told Closer Magazine.
The source continued: ‘But she has had some wobbles and found herself feeling guilty. She’s concerned about who to let into her life and worried about being judged for any decisions she makes.
‘There have also been some people who have made comments about her not trying hard enough to make it work with Richie, and it’s made her think about her marriage and what went wrong.
‘Ultimately, she knows she tried everything she could, and once the trust was broken there was just no going back. But dating again has brought up some unexpected feelings that she’s been struggling with.’
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She was shocked.