Jermaine Jenas‘ ex-model wife Ellie is ‘absolutely raging’ and has kicked him out of the bedroom they share at their £1million family home, the axed BBC star has admitted.
The former England international is now fighting to save his 13-year-marriage after it emerged he had been sacked by the BBC for sending inappropriate texts to a colleague.
He has confessed to lying to Ellie, who describes herself as a ‘wife’ and mother’ in her Instagram bio, during a family holiday to Spain when he sneaked off to talk to his bosses about the messages.
Although the 41-year-old has admitted sending the texts, he insists they were exchanged between two consenting adults and that he has done nothing illegal.
Now Jenas has opened up about the moment he came clean about being fired from The One Show – saying he doesn’t know if his wife will forgive him.
Jermaine Jenas, 41, pictured with his wife Ellie who is ‘absolutely raging’ following his sacking
Ellie is a former party-loving underwear model who was close friends with glamour girls Katie Price and Lauren Pope
Jenas and Ellie attend Wimbledon in June 2023 where they watched all the action on Centre Court and No. 1 Court
Jermaine Jenas and his wife Ellie are pictured while on holiday in Marbella in June 2014
He told The Sun in an emotional interview: ‘We’ve not really spoken properly since. She’s absolutely raging.’
Jenas who shares two daughters and a son with Ellie, said that the couple were no longer sharing a bedroom at their family home in Hertfordshire.
He added: ‘It’s just about the children right now. It’s the school holidays and they’re trapped in the house because photographers are outside my house.’
Jenas praised his wife as an ‘amazing mother’, saying she is ‘kind’ and just ‘needs some time’.
The former England star has admitted sending the texts but has insists he has done nothing illegal.
He denied ever sending indecent images or videos and said the messages were between consenting adults, one of whom ‘made it clear she was interested’.
However Jenas said he is ‘ashamed’ and ‘deeply sorry’ as he apologised for the scandal.
He revealed he was fired in an excruciating video call – while he was on a family holiday in Marbella, Spain, with his wife and their three children.
Jenas slammed this as ‘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 41-year-old said he went on to lie to his wife after being informed of the allegations to ‘find a way out of this mess’.
Jenas and Ellie pictured in September 2010 kissing as the stand in the sea after taking a stroll on the Sisu Hotel beach in Marbella whilst on a short sunshine break with friends
Ellie (top centre) stepped away from the nightclub scene to concentrate on bringing up the pair’s children and supporting Jenas’ media career
Jenas drapes his arm around Ellie as the couple walk along the sand in Marbella in September 2010
A newly engaged Ellie Penfold pictured in August 2009 on a night out with pals at upmarket Japanese restaurant Nobu Berkeley in London
The news of Jenas’ sacking came moments before he went live on air on talkSPORT radio on Thursday afternoon.
The channel 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.’
However, 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.
Jermaine Jenas on the phone as he leaves talkSPORT on Thursday evening after being sacked
The former model describes herself as a ‘mummy’ and ‘wife’ on her Instagram bio (pictured)
Jermaine Jenas pictured with Ellie at an event in London in November 2009
The former England international told his wife of 13 years, Ellie Penfold, about the claims
Ellie enjoys a sun-kissed holiday in Marbella in June 2014 with her ex-footballer husband Jermaine Jenas
‘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.
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’ departure in an email from the BBC’s head of sport Alex Kay-Jelski at 3.39pm on Thursday 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.’