Jenas’ spouse ‘standing by him’ as he faces contemporary claims about behaviour

Jermaine Jenas’ ex-model wife is standing by the axed BBC star as ‘multiple women’ come forward to make fresh claims about his alleged ‘inappropriate behaviour’. 

The former England international is understood to have told his wife of 13 years, Ellie Penfold, about the claims. 

Ellie, who describes herself as a ‘mummy’ and ‘wife’ on her Instagram bio and has previously modelled for Katie Price‘s clothing range, is said to be supporting the ex-Premier League footballer, according to The Sun. 

The presenter, 41, is said to be ‘deeply unhappy’ about the allegations after he was fired this week after ‘rumours’ spread among colleagues about the inappropriate messages. 

A female member of staff of The One Show claimed she received unsolicited communications via text from Jenas, reports claimed.

Others are now said to have come forward amid the probe into messages allegedly sent by the married ex-footballer, according to The Sun. However, the source added there is ‘no suggestion of illegality’ on the ex-footballer’s part. 

The news of Jenas’ sacking came moments before he went live on air on talkSport radio yesterday afternoon, who have now said he will no longer appear on the show in the ‘immediate future’.

Just three months before his sacking, Jenas posted a gushing message about his wife on Instagram as he wished her happy birthday. 

He wrote: ‘Happy birthday Mrs j i love you… we love you more than you could ever imagine.. you deserve the world x.’

Jenas spoke to MailOnline 16 months ago about the strained relationship he once had with wife Ellie, saying they argued about the amount of time he spent socialising after filming for The One Show.

He also admitted that the pair had to work through their differences and that the couple enjoyed separate holidays. 

Jenas said: ‘I would say up until about five years ago it was quite stressful for us both.

‘There was a lot of competing going on in our relationship and a lot of ‘you get to do this’ or ‘you don’t do this.

‘It was a lot to do with the kids and the fact that I had this new career starting and I was out and about and meeting new people and going to shows… it was all glitzy but for my wife it was like nappies, milk… I am a very hands-on dad and I’m always trying to help but still she wasn’t getting that fulfilment in her own life.

‘I had to address it and over the last five years I always say to her once or twice or year just go away for three days or something.

‘In the summer and coming up now she will usual go to Ibiza with her mates and have a good blowout and that’s for her not to have to wake up or think about the kids, and I’ve just come back from Scotland playing three days of golf and she will say the same to me, go and play golf, relax, enjoy yourself.’

The got engaged in 2009 and tied the knot two years later in 2011. They live in a £7million 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 often shares pictures on his Instagram account of his glamorous life with Ellie where he takes ‘Mrs J’ on luxury holidays to Ibiza and Dubai. 

In one video the couple are seen on the Spanish island sipping wine with Jenas backflipping off a boat into the sea. 

Jenas said the secret to protecting their marriage was learning to communicate ‘before the crisis hit’ and now the couple resist ‘game playing’ in favour of a peaceful household.   

He added: ‘There was a lot of waiting before, we would wait and wait and neither of us knew what was wrong and then that escalated into the biggest argument ever.

‘We decided to start having a conversation whenever we felt anything. She would say, ‘Jermaine, I feel like I’m not seeing you enough’ or ‘I feel like I’m doing too much around the house, I’m not getting my life back enough’ and just getting there before the crisis hit.

‘We are 15 years deep into our relationship and there isn’t anything we won’t talk about whatever the frustration may be, we will have that conversation but that has only happened in time. It actually came from being sick of arguing.

‘When you’re in those types of arguments where you’re like, I don’t know why we’re arguing but I’m actually bored of it, and this is a really easy fix. This is my problem and can you help, more of that mentality rather than the game-playing and the mind games.

‘Plus, my social life has settled down so much. There was a point where I might finish work and meet some mates in London and get in at like 11pm and she would do the school run and then I’d do it again two days later and all of a sudden in her mind she is thinking I’m just going out and taking the mick. My life is a bit simpler as well, which helped.’ 

The messages are understood to have ‘horrified’ the people who saw them, a source claimed. 

‘We investigated him immediately and fired him pretty fast,’ they told The Times, adding: ‘There are no excuses for anyone in power abusing their positions. He’s a man in power messaging some runners.’ 

The ex-Premier League player began co-presenting a TalkSport drive time show with fellow former footballer Jermaine Pennant, moments after it was announced he had been removed from all BBC presenting line-ups.

A spokesperson from TalkSport told The Sun newspaper they were ‘made aware of a breaking story involving Jermaine as he went on air’, but the decision was made, alongside Jenas, ‘that he should continue to present the show’.

A giant poster featuring Jenas alongside BBC Sport colleagues Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Alex Scott was removed from Manchester’s Media City HQ on Thursday. 

Breaking his silence over the claims yesterday, a spokesperson for Jenas said: ‘Right now I can’t talk about it.

‘I can tell you I’m not happy – there are two sides to every story – and I’m going to be speaking with my lawyers on the issue.’

Meanwhile, the BBC has been removing all traces of Jenas from its websites. 

A BBC insider claimed: ‘It all came as a massive shock but his colleagues have now been told the news and he won’t be back. 

‘They were kept in the dark. They couldn’t believe it when they found out. 

‘There were rumours going around about text messages to members of staff so the evidence was there and the BBC knew that they couldn’t do anything else but terminate his employment. He was sacked very quickly; it’s a sorry state of affairs.’

Staff were officially informed of Jenas’s departure in an email from the BBC’s head of sport Alex Kay-Jelski at 3.39pm yesterday afternoon. 

In a short message he wrote: ‘Hello all, I wanted to let you know that Jermaine Jenas is no longer working with the BBC. Thanks, Alex.’

The message raised eyebrows among employees because it was sent from Mr Kay-Jelski’s iPhone. Sources say that the announcement was rushed out after bosses were alerted that the Mail was aware Jenas had been axed.

‘It must have really caught them on the hop for such an announcement to have the been sent from a mobile phone,’ one member of BBC staff said.

Now sources at talkSPORT fear that Jenas’ future there could also be under threat.

But a talkSPORT spokesman last night said: ‘We made a decision, with Jermaine, that he should continue to present the show.’

However, the official added: ‘There are no plans for Jermaine to broadcast as a presenter on talkSPORT in the immediate future.’

He is understood to be employed on a freelance basis but the Mail can reveal that bosses there were last night asking around for information on the behaviour that saw him sacked by the BBC.

An insider said: ‘There is now some concern at talkSPORT, if there is a whiff that Jermaine has done something serious, then…’

Jenas’s photograph has been removed from the BBC’s studios in Salford and he appears to have parted company with his long-term agent MC Saatchi who have taken his picture down from their website.  

In an uncomfortable interview on Thursday evening, Jenas refused to answer the questions put to him and demanded the recording was stopped. 

The Talk Sport interviewer said: ‘Can I just add, Jermaine, I can see that you are absolutely fuming,’ to which Jenas replied ‘yeah‘.

The sacked presenter then cut in to ask: ‘Is this still on air?’

When the interviewer responded with ‘yeah we are still recording’, Jenas demanded: ‘Turn it off.’ 

The talkSPORT interviewer added: ‘I just want to ask you this on tape. I can see that you are fuming right and I understand entirely there are certain things you can’t talk about. 

‘But you are a major BBC star. Can you articulate any of your emotions right now towards the BBC and this happening to you?’ 

Jenas replied: ‘I can’t talk about it right now.’ 

He added: ‘I cant talk about those things [how I feel] right now. Like I said, There’s two sides to this whole thing. My lawyers are going to be taking over from now on.’ 

Moments before, Jenas had admitted he was ‘not happy’ with his sacking.

He said: ‘I can’t really talk about it. As you can probably see, I’m not happy about it. But currently as it stands I’m going to have to let the lawyers deal with it.

‘There’s two sides… that’s all I can say now.’

He added: ‘I’m not happy about this situation. I’m going to be speaking to my lawyers about it, is all I can say right now.’

The fired presenter was later seen on the phone as he was driven away from Talk Sport in a black Mercedes.

A spokesperson for Jenas had also released a statement while he was on air, saying: ‘Right now I can’t talk about it.

‘I can tell you I’m not happy – there are two sides to every story – and I’m going to be speaking with my lawyers on the issue.’ 

According to the BBC, the ex-Premier League footballer’s ‘contract was terminated earlier this week, because of alleged issues relating to workplace behaviour’. 

The corporation added: ‘It followed allegations involving digital communications such as texts, which were raised with the corporation a few weeks ago.’

Sources at the BBC say Jenas will no longer host its evening show with immediate effect. He also appears to have been removed from agency MC Saatchi’s website.

The ex-Premier League star even appeared laughing while hosting talkSPORT Drive’s live show at 4pm on Thursday, just minutes after it emerged he had been sacked from the BBC.

Jenas was set to appear on the show again tomorrow but Mail Sport understands this will no longer be the case.

Footage from Jermaine Pennant’s Instagram story on Thursday shows Jenas making a face after the footballer says: ‘When you and your best mate are on the radio.’ 

It’s understood the complaints related to his ‘workplace conduct’ and that the issues were raised with the broadcaster a few weeks ago, and it took action.

The married father of four last presented The One Show alongside Welsh co-host Alex Jones on July 22, interviewing popstar Will Young, and appeared on the Match of The Day panel on May 4. 

A BBC spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm Jermaine Jenas is no longer part of our presenting line-up.’ 

Alex Kay-Jelski, the head of BBC Sport, confirmed the decision in an email to staff on Thursday, informing them that ‘Jermaine Jenas is no longer working for the BBC’. 

Speaking about the revelation, a source told the Sun: ‘This is a categorical nightmare for the BBC.’

Jenas also previously hosted the Match of the Day spin-off and he was a regular studio pundit for the Beeb’s Euros coverage.

He has also been mooted as a replacement for Gary Lineker on Match of the Day amid rumours that he is to leave in the near future.

The former player even covered this summer’s Euros in Germany, and acted as a co-commentator on the semi-final between Spain and France on July 9. 

Former footballer Jenas, 41, joined The One Show in In 2020, where he began co-presenting with Alex Jones.

A year later he became one of its permanent hosts.

As well as playing for England, he also played for Tottenham Hotspur for eight years between 2005 and 2013 after signing from Newcastle United.

The saga is the latest to hit the BBC following the Strictly scandal and Huw Edwards pleading guilty to paedophilia.  

BBC bosses are currently deciding how to announce the verdict of their investigation into Amanda Abbington’s claims that Giovanni Pernice bullied her during rehearsals last year. 

The ex-Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle star – who won 21 England caps – lives in a £1million house in Hertfordshire.

The ex-footballer made his first team debut for Nottingham Forest aged 17 and earned a big-money move to Newcastle United in 2002 where he was named PFA Young Player of the Year award in his first full season. 

However his career was blighted by injury and was forced to retire with a knee injury in 2014 aged just 31.

But Jenas has managed to build a successful TV career off the back of his playing days, working not only for the BBC, both on TV and radio, but also with TNT Sports (previously called BT Sport) where he’s worked on the channel’s football coverage as a pundit and Formula E as host. 

In 2020 he branched outside of football to take on a position among The One Show presenting roster. 

He joined the show back as a stand-in for Matt Baker alongside former Boyzone heartthrob, Ronan Keating. 

But the retired football ace proved so popular that in May 2021 he was bagged a prized slot presenting full-time alongside Alex Jones Monday to Wednesday.

And his turn on the TV appeared to inspire him to taking on future television gigs – with the star even hinting at becoming the next MOTD 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’. 

Jenas shares his stunning £1million home with wife Ellie and their daughters Geneva and Olivia, their baby son Jacob, and Sancha, Jermaine’s daughter from a previous relationship.

In a conversation with the Belfast Telegraph, Jenas couldn’t help but sing praises of his wife: ‘She’s been a rock keeping the family going through tough times.’

‘She actually made me get rid of the car because it was too noisy! She’s told me she thought when we first met that I was a bit of an over-confident idiot, but I won her over finally.’

Jenas regularly shares candid pictures of himself and Ellie playing with their children. 

In October 2021, the couple welcomed baby Jacob to the family. 

Sharing their first baby picture of their newborn, Ellie wrote on Instagram: ‘Our beautiful son Jacob Anthony Jenas – we love you so much.’

News of the couple’s announcement was first revealed on The One Show a couple of days earlier as Jenas’s co-host Ronan Keating announced: ‘First off congratulations to our very own Jermaine and his wife Ellie, who had a baby boy called Jacob at the weekend.

‘Enjoy some time off, no sleep for you Jermaine.’

Jenas, who has also fronted programmes on BT Sport, announced he was set to become a father again during his debut appearance as a permanent host of The One Show in May 2021. 

After being prompted by co-host Alex Jones, Jermaine said: ‘I have a baby on the way. It’s a boy. Very excited in our house.’ 

Away from the TV, Jenas and a friend set up the Aquinas Foundation to help incentivise and raise the aspirations of young people in schools across Nottingham.

In December 2023 it was announced he would collect an honorary degree from Nottingham Trent University.