Jermaine Jenas is said to have found love with a French beauty 12 years younger than him who looks a lot like his ex-wife, just over a year after they split following his BBC sexting scandal
Jermaine Jenas is said to have found love again with a French beauty who looks almost identical to his ex-wife, just over a year on from their split.
Jenas split from Ellie Penfold, mum to three of his four kids, after 16 years of marriage after he was sacked by BBC as a Match of the Day pundit and The One Show host over “inappropriate texts” sent to female colleagues.
However, according to The Sun, the former Premier League midfielder, 43, has been quietly dating French stunner Anne, 31, for six months and Jenas has “has tried to keep a low profile with their relationship.”
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A source told The Sun “At the start he would drop hints on social media – like posts of Anne’s Chanel handbag when they were on dates. But now he’s in Paris so much it is clear it’s serious.
“Jermaine is always posting pictures from Paris and says he’s happier than ever. Anne has been to visit him in London too but because his work schedule is less regimented now, he can spend more time in France.”
The insider also said he’s “smitten” with the French stunner.
Jenas was sacked by the BBC in August 2024, at the time it was reported that staff at the BBC have been left in shock at the development.
Director of Sport Alex Kay-Jelski emailed staff at 3.39pm on Thursday saying simply: “I wanted to let you know that Jermaine Jenas is no longer working for the BBC.” A source said: “It was brutally short and to the point. It felt like there was no messing around.”
He was let go amid complaints about his conduct at work. Speaking to The Sun, he revealed he was sacked in a Zoom call during which BBC bosses read out his X-rated messages. Jenas added he was “ashamed” and had “let everyone down”.
Ellie was said to be left “raging” following the allegations – but Jenas hoped to work through their issues.
However, in March 2025, Ellie took to Instagram to reveal their marriage was over. Speaking about the break-up, Jenas said: “It was her decision and one that I had to accept.
“If it was up to me – and I think a lot of men are like this – I’d probably be prepared to be unhappy for the rest of my life if [it meant] I had my kids in it. If I have my kids, I’m quite happy to sacrifice.”
He added: “It’s a man thing. Relationships are what they are – they have highs, they have lows and people cheat – some people do, some people don’t, but you figure a lot of things out.
“The reality is we both were in a position where we were like ‘are we really happy?’ From her side of things, she’d ran the course more than probably me.
“But I was much more happy to go ‘I’ll be unhappy if I can stay in this house with you and these kids’. It wasn’t to be for her, so we went our separate ways and that is that.”