Jermaine Jenas' wife announces split after 16 years together months after 'inappropriate messages' scandal
Jermaine Jenas has split up from Ellie Penfold after 16 years together.
It comes just months after the Match of the Day pundit was sacked by the BBC amid a scandal which erupted over 'inappropriate messages' he sent to female colleagues.
In a statement shared on Instagram today, Penfold wrote: "I never imagined I would have to share something so personal with the public, but given the situation, I feel it's necessary.
"After 16 years together and 4 wonderful children, Jermaine and I have decided to part ways.
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"We will remain friends and continue to co-parent. We kindly ask that you respect our children's privacy during this challenging time.
"Thank you, Ellie."
The pair - who share two daughters Geneva and Olivia, as well as son Jacob together - got engaged in 2009 before tying the knot two years later.
Jenas was axed from BBC shows after his extra-marital activities were revealed last year.
He revealed that his partner of 16 years had kicked him out of the family home in Hertfordshire after the allegations came to light - and said that even the family dog had turned against him.
Speaking to The Sun days after, the 42-year-old said that Penfold was 'absolutely raging' when he confessed the truth to her
"She’s human," Jenas said at the time. "When I see her now, she is just making sure the children are OK."
He went on to hail Penfold as an 'amazing mother' and 'a real one'.
Jenas had been a presenter on The One Show and made appearances on Match of the Day before the BBC announced he was 'no longer part of our presenting line-up'.
When news of his sacking was announced in August 2024, Jenas was live on talkSPORT.
He said there were 'two sides to every story', and the former Tottenham Hotspur footballer later insisted he did 'nothing illegal'.
Jenas instead described the situation as 'inappropriate messages between two consenting adults'.
He said at the time: "These were two consenting adults I was speaking to. With one she made it clear she was interested. I don’t want to start going down the ‘who pursued who’ road, but when people are saying things that are wrong and false information is being spread, I do have to kind of defend my space.
“In that particular instance, there was an adult conversation that took place in a bar in London where that person made it very clear that they had an attraction to me.
"Yes there was alcohol involved but I take full responsibility. I feel people don’t know the truth and are forming opinions about me that aren’t accurate. I wasn’t going through some kind of BBC vault trying to get women’s numbers.
“I’m obviously going to say I’m not a sex pest. These were consenting adults I was texting."
During his playing career, Jenas spent eight years at Tottenham and made 155 appearances for the club.
He also played for Nottingham Forest and Newcastle and won 21 caps for England. In 2013, Jenas left Spurs and moved to his final club QPR.
However, due to a serious knee injury in 2014, he played his last professional match that year, though he retired from football completely in 2016.
That is when he transitioned into a career in the media, doing punditry for the likes of ITV Sport and BT Sport, before joining the BBC.
Topics: BBC, Celebrity, Sex and Relationships, UK News
Olivia Burke