James Haskell has opened up about his divorce from Chloe Madeley, revealing some heartfelt truths.
The ex-rugby player, aged 38, parted ways with the daughter of TV legends Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan in 2023, following the birth of their child, Bodhi, the previous year.
Despite their separation, James and Chloe have remained united in their devotion to co-parenting their beloved daughter. James concedes that he could have invested more effort into the marriage as he acknowledged that his love of one alcoholic drink played a big part in their split.
In a discussion with the Mail, he expressed: “If I put more time into my marriage than I did Guinness, then I wouldn’t be divorced now.”
He continued: “It’s one of those things in life where some things don’t work out, but I have so much love for my daughter and Chloe. It’s teamwork.”
Focusing on post-divorce family dynamics, he added: “What we all forget is when you have children and a marriage finishes, it’s all about the kids. Chloe and I are amazing co-parents. Our priority is always Bodhi.”
Maintaining his single status, having been linked earlier in the year to advertising exec Helen Barclay and former Big Brother contestant Sara McLean, 35, James has set romance aside, emphasising his commitment to “being the best dad in the best order”.
Meanwhile, he also shared how he has been coming to terms with the sad passing of his dad recently, saying: “We’ve lost the key cornerstone of our family, it’s a very emotional, difficult time.”
He added: “He was an amazing man. He always encouraged me to work. Every time I said to him, “Shall I take a day off?” he would rather I worked.”
Chloe has made a pledge to embrace the single life, candidly discussing the challenges following her split with James, labelling the final year of their marriage as “one of the worst periods of my life”. The television personality is steering clear of the dating game, having stayed single since parting ways.
During an Instagram Q&A, when quizzed by a follower, “What do you look for in a guy?” Chloe’s response was light-hearted: “I don’t [laughing emoji] I’m very happily committed to being and staying single [upside down smiley face emoji].”
Following sightings of James with Sara McLean at the Cheltenham Festival, Chloe took to social media with a rather enigmatic message.
She posted a humorous video featuring a sheep blindly navigating with a bucket on its head, captioning it: “Me. It’s so nice in here”. The accompanying subtitles stated: “She’s at a place in her life where peace is a priority and negativity cannot exist. She is no longer matching energy.
“She is simply removing herself from any situation that doesn’t vibrate her soul. So if you start moving funny, she’s moving on.”
Chloe revisited her Stories later to express her contentment, stating: “I’ve been happier than I’ve been in years and I’m not emotionally involved in any way, shape or form with anyone else’s love life”.
