A devastated Jermaine Jenas broke down in tears as he revealed that he was on holiday with his wife and children when he was sacked by the BBC over a sexting scandal, as he fights to save his marriage.
The broadcaster fired Match Of The Day and One Show presente Jenas, 41, in an excrutiating video call while he was on a family trip in Marbella, Spain with his wife model Ellie Penfold and their three children.
Speaking to The Sun, the ex-footballer said it was ‘grim’ having to ‘sit there and listen to what you’ve said’ as four people on the Zoom call read out his inappropriate text messages.
The video call came five days after he was first told of the allegations against him by the BBC.
But the guilt-ridden Jenas said he was ‘deeply ashamed’ as he admitted to sending inappropriate texts to women at the BBC and said he had ‘let myself down, my family, friends and colleagues down, and I owe everyone an apology – especially the women with whom I was messaging. I am so, so sorry’.
Jermaine Jenas denied being a sex pest and insisted he had done nothing illegal as his texting scandal rocked the BBC.But he apologised if he made the women he had messaged feel uncomfortable
Jemaine Jenas last appearance on The One show
‘I think it would be fair to say I have a problem. I know I self- sabotage and have a self-destructive streak when it comes to my relationship especially, and I know I need help. And I am getting help.
‘I have made a lot of mistakes, and I am asking myself a lot of questions at the moment. I know there’s a lot of work that needs to be done, and it will be hard’, he added.
He also admitted to initially concealing the information from his wife when he first learned of the complaints against him.
The Sun has also reported that Jenas is fighting to save his 13-year-marriage as his wife hasn’t spoken to him ‘properly’ since learning of the scandal and she is ‘absolutely raging’ – kicking him out of their bedroom in their £1 million Hertfordshire home.
For now, however, the pair are focusing on their three children.
It comes after an insider claimed it was ‘completely over the line’ and he ‘doesn’t have a leg to stand on’ over the ‘flirty texts’ that led to him being sacked from the BBC.
Married ex-footballer Jenas, 41, was let go by the corporation after women complained about his workplace conduct and a junior member of staff – said to have been previously impressed by the BBC star – raised concerns over alleged flirty texts.
The corporation acted ‘swiftly and decisively’ because ‘the BBC cannot be seen to be slow to take action’, a source claimed.
Jermaine Jenas and wife
But some criticized the broadcaster for sacking Jenas, suggesting it was worried about its reputation in light of the recent scandals.
Jenas, who has been married to Ellie for 13 years and has four children, said he is considering suing the BBC for their handling of the situation.
He came clean to her about being fired after she believed he would be returning to The One Show.
Jenas insisted he did nothing illegal and the messages were between consenting adults, one of whom he said made clear she was interested. He denied ever sending indecent images or videos.