Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan
TV veterans Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan have been mainstays on the small screen for decades as they continue to balance a happy work and home life balance.
Like any couple, the pair has faced a turbulent time along the way, but unlike many famous pairings, the duo have managed to stick to their vows. Now, as daughter Chloe Madeley opens up on her own home life, including co-parenting with ex-husband James Haskell, the pair’s commitment to sticking together has been shared by their only daughter.
Their daughter, Chloe Madeley
Chloe was discussing her difficult times and was asked what her parents’ secret was. Joking with a blunt answer, Chloe revealed: “They would honestly say the same thing”
“The secret to them having such a long marriage is to not get divorced!” Speaking to Closer Magazine, she added: “They’ve been together over 40 years and during that time there have been periods where they really struggled, but they kept going and stayed together. I don’t think it was ever bad enough for them to split.”
Chloe Madeley split with James Haskell after five years of marriage© Getty Images
Chloe shared her parents’ secret to a long marriage© Dave J Hogan/Getty Images
Richard and Judy met in 1982 when they worked on separate shows for Granada Television. Both were married to other people about the time of their introduction. “I thought he looked nice. Tall, handsome and all that but I thought the suit was a bit flash. Then, because he was a newbie, I was assigned the job of looking after him,” Judy previously told The Mirror of the first time she laid eyes on Richard.
The co-workers then went on to divorce their respective spouses and married each other four years later in Manchester.
Richard admitted to having several affairs during his first marriage. Just 21 when he married Lynda Hooley, Richard has since said that the marriage was a mistake and that he struggled to be faithful. Speaking about how many women he bedded during the six-year union, Richard previously told the Mirror: “Oh lots, numerous, probably in the space of about five years, about 10.” He added: “Although the marriage had some very happy moments, there was a lot of negativity in it. I’m not using that as an excuse. It’s wrong to have affairs, but I was a very young man.”
Richard went on to have a very happy marriage to wife Judy.
Despite her parents having a long and successful marriage to date, Chloe admitted it never added pressure onto her when it came to splitting from her own vows with former rugby star James. Chloe said she “wanted very much” for her time with James, with whom she shares two-year-old daughter Bodhi, to work. However, after feeling as though she couldn’t go on, Chloe split with James after five years together – while they were filming a reality TV show about their marriage.
Chloe previously admitted i it was a “f—— awful” split. Now, she’s confessed she’s back in the dating game and “really wants” a new relationship.
Parents Richard and Judy meanwhile continue to celebrate their marriage. Richard, however, did previously reveal the pair often struggled to keep their emotions in check on camera. He said the would often have to fake chemistry after a “blazing row” before their live appearances on This Morning commenced.
Speaking last month on their Channel 5 documentary titled Richard & Judy: Our Best Bits – In Our Own Words, he said: “It was very funny, we’d get to the studio sometimes having had a row, Judy would storm off to make-up and I would go in my dressing room and get in my suit.
“Then she’d leave make-up and I’d rush past her and go into make-up and then we go onto the studio floor, sit down, [smile for the cameras] and the music would be on and within a minute viewers would call in and say, ‘They’ve had a row haven’t they?’ Because viewers knew us so well.”
