‘Heartbroken’ Fern Britton ‘dumbstruck’ as ex-husband Phil Vickery is seen kissing her best friend

Fern Britton is said to be ‘heartbroken and dumbfounded’ after photos emerged of her ex-husband Phil Vickery kissing her best friend.

On Wednesday, the TV chef, 61, was seen passionately kissing Lorraine Stanton, 58, who is close friends with former This Morning host Fern, 65.

The trio’s close and longstanding friendship was evident in a plethora of social media snaps documenting their close bond, and MailOnline can reveal that Ferne feels “shocked, weird and uncomfortable” at the couple’s betrayal.

A source told MailOnline exclusively: “Fern finds the situation strange and uncomfortable and has been informed that Lorraine is clearly not a good mate.

“She is shocked and struggling to process her mixed feelings. On the one hand, she’d felt like she’d left Phil, but she hadn’t expected this new romance and it was hard to see.’

MailOnline understands that she was warned about the couple’s romance before photos of the couple kissing in the street were made public.

Fern and Phil announced their split in January 2020, with the pair both tweeting in matching statements: “After more than 20 happy years together, [we] decided to go our own way. We will always share a great friendship and our lovely children.

“We would appreciate it if our privacy is respected at this time. Thank you for your continued kindness and support.’

Four months before announcing her divorce, Fern and Lorraine enjoyed a bike ride with friends in Lake Windermere in September 2019 with photos of the couple shared on social media.

Prior to their trip, there were plenty of photos of the couple enjoying days out, but the duo have not appeared in a group photo since.

Fern still follows Lorraine’s Instagram page, whose bio reads: ‘Cherish yesterday, dream tomorrow, but live for today oh yeah!’

According to The sunwho obtained photos of Lorraine and Phil kissing, was the new couple on a date and was seen leaving the hotel with an overnight bag in their hands.

A friend close to Fern told the publication: ‘They look like teenagers in love and that will be so painful for Fern. Behaving like that in public feels like betrayal.’

Phil and Lorraine, a former general manager of a restaurant, couldn’t keep their hands off each other because they reportedly stopped twice in the street to share a kiss.

Lorraine has been friends with Fern, 65, for years and they have documented their friendship on Instagram and Facebook.

Fern and Phil split in 2020 after 20 years together and Phil’s new public love comes weeks after the TV star revealed she was struggling with her marriage.

An insider said: ‘Kissing Phil and Lorraine in the street will be heartbreaking for poor Fern. They look like teenagers in love and that will be so painful for her.’

“They’re two of the most important people in her life and when they act like that in public, it feels like betrayal.”

Phil was last seen on TV Tuesday morning serving a sausage platter during a This Morning segment with Take That’s Mark Owen.

The news station reported that Phil stayed in a flat after filming and was seen walking through the capital the next morning with Lorraine.

Just two months ago, in July, Fern spoke in a new interview with Fine Magazine.

Fern said she “don’t want to be the billboard for being apart,” explaining that many couples feel their relationship is coming to a natural end.

Reflecting on her difficult but friendly breakup, she said, “This new chapter comes at the right time for me. However, I don’t want to be the billboard for divorce because a lot of people are going through the same thing.

“Often the kids go out of the house and you look at each other and say, ‘Ah, where do we go from here?’ I only wish I was the kind of person who could have kept that up, but I couldn’t,” she explained.

The couple share a daughter, Winnie, 20, while Fern is the mother of twins Jack and Harry, and daughter Grace, who she shares with ex-husband Clive Jones.

She and Phil ended their long-standing marriage after realizing it was “running its course” – living alone when their offspring flew out of the nest.

Fern has previously explained how difficult it is to ‘come back’ from a divorce, saying in March that the ‘recovery is difficult’.

And it looks like she’s still staying away from dating for now, explaining how important her own space is.

The TV personality told Prima, “I’m not currently considering dating. I didn’t see anyone and no one approached me, which is nice too.

“If someone came along who was nice and nice and we didn’t have to live together – if he had his life and I had mine – that would be perfect.

In conclusion: ‘But on the other hand, life is damn perfect now and I’m happy with my company, so meeting someone would just be the icing on the cake.’

Fern announced her split from Phil in January 2020, with the pair both tweeting in matching statements: “After more than 20 happy years together, [we] decided to go our own way. We will always share a great friendship and our lovely children.

“We would appreciate it if our privacy is respected at this time. Thank you for your continued kindness and support. [sic]’