My husband acquired along with my old skool pal simply two months after we cut up. I nonetheless beloved him and hated her – however now she’s my greatest pal

A mother has revealed her unlikely friendship with her ex-husband’s girlfriend – with the pair even going away on holiday together despite their initial challenges.

Leigh Wright, 37, and her ex-husband Thomas Wright divorced in 2013 after a seven-year relationship and seven months of being married.

Then, just two months later, Thomas, 39, began a new relationship with Leigh’s old school friend: hairdresser Kristina Ord, 35.

Initially, Leigh ‘hated’ Thomas and Kristina’s relationship as she was still in love with her former husband, and refused to introduce her sons Fraser, 17, Freddie, 15, and Fletcher, 14, to her for three years.

Yet Thomas and Kristina’s relationship has stood the test of time. After 13 years together, the couple now share two daughters – Nina, three, and Iris, one.

Remarkably, Kristina and Leigh have also become best friends, with Thomas even paying for his girlfriend and ex-wife to go on a girls’ trip together to Bucharest last summer.

Now, Leigh, from Essex, is even hopeful that her ex-husband and his partner will get married soon so that she can be maid of honour.

She said: ‘Thomas and I had a good relationship, but we were very young and caught up with the children. The relationship broke down as soon as we were married.

‘Thomas wanted to leave, so it took a long time for me to get over it because I got married thinking we’d be together forever.

‘It took me 18 months to get over him and I made sure that Kristina being introduced to the kids was a slow process.’

Describing how she felt ‘disgusted’ by the prospect of Thomas and Kristina building a life together, Leigh said that it was ultimately only once the love for her ex-husband had ‘gone’ that she was able to ‘communicate with her properly’.

Kristina added: ‘When I first met Thomas, things were still very raw for them both and they were navigating adjustments.

‘Once time went on and Thomas and I moved in together, the boys would stay with us alternate weekends but I didn’t want to force a relationship. 

‘I took a distant approach and let things happen naturally. We were very much guided by Leigh and what he was comfortable with.’

Meanwhile, Thomas noted that their ‘raw feelings’ were ‘complicated’ by the fact that Leigh’s sister and Kristina were old school friends.

‘There was no hiding from the history,’ he added.

Yet over time, Leigh and Kristina’s relationship slowly blossomed, with the two now said to be ‘best friends’.

The turning point for the two women occurred two years ago, when Thomas was unable to go on a family holiday to Turkey and asked his ex-wife to take his place.

And so – rather unconventionally – Leigh, an attendance officer, travelled to Turkey with Kristina, her mother, Kristina’s daughter Nina, and her own three sons.

Revealing how the holiday sparked the beginning of their friendship, Leigh said: ‘Kristina had a difficult birth with Nina, and Thomas struggled with it.

‘We sat on a sun lounger for a week and talked about everything. Nothing was off limits and I was surprised at how well we got on.

‘We’re very similar. And from then, we’ve been best friends. Everything was forgotten and we just moved on.’

The two women’s friendship has since gone from strength to strength, with the pair attending an adult pantomime just the two of them, and enjoying drinks out together. 

Kristina added: ‘Leigh is definitely my best friend.

‘She’s the go-to person, she helps me with childcare and she’s part of my village.

‘We have the best time together with or without the kids.’

Now, the unconventional blended family operate as a ‘totally solid unit’, with Thomas explaining that ‘the labels of “ex” or “step” don’t really matter anymore’.

‘We’re just a team,’ he said. 

The blended family now plan to go away on a holiday altogether. And when Thomas and Kristina go on a romantic weekend away later this year, Leigh will move into their home to take care of Nina and Iris.

While Leigh acknowledged that people may find it ‘strange’ how well she gets on with her ex-husband’s partner, she believes that it is ‘so important’ for all of the children involved to see them get on. 

She added that there are no feelings of ‘awkwardness’ because ‘I don’t have any love’ for Thomas. 

‘The boys want me to move closer to Thomas and Kristina. They love us all being together,’ she said.

Leigh has also admitted that Kristina and Thomas are a better match, describing her old school friend as her ex-husband’s ‘person’.

‘She’s got the patience of a saint,’ she said. ‘He still does things that wind me up and it doesn’t bother her.

She added: ‘We know it’s a very unique situation, but we didn’t want adult problems on children’s shoulders. Lots of parents vent to their children but it’s not for their ears.

‘I hope Kristina and Thomas get married one day so I can be maid of honour.’