Jermaine Jenas’s wife opens up about ‘incredibly difficult’ few months since sacked BBC star’s sexting scandal and says their children have been her focus

Jermaine Jenas’ wife has admitted the past few months have been ‘incredibly difficult’ after her BBC star husband was sacked amid a sexting scandal.

Former Tottenham Hotspur and England midfielder Jenas, 41, was sacked after sending explicit text messages to two female employees at the broadcaster, where he worked on Match Of The Day and The One Show.

Jenas revealed that his wife Ellie – with whom he shares three young children – was ‘absolutely furious’ after hearing about the messages and evicted him from the bedroom they share in their £1million family home.

He admitted lying to her during a family holiday in which he sneaked out for a Zoom call with BBC bosses about his inappropriate messages.

Ellie, who has almost 14,000 followers on Instagram, has been quiet on social media in the weeks following Jenas’ dismissal.

But she made a public appearance today for the launch of her new venture, Preppy Skin, a grooming brand aimed exclusively at under-16s.

Reacting to the scandal, Ellie, who was seen without her wedding ring, admitted that the past few months had been ‘incredibly difficult’ for her and her family.

She added that her “sole focus was on our children” and the launch of the grooming brand and was eager to “move forward.”

The One Show host, pictured at Wimbledon this year with wife Ellie Penfold, who has admitted the past few months have been ‘incredibly difficult’ after her husband was sacked by the BBC

Jermaine Jenas, 41, pictured with his wife Ellie Penfold. He admitted she was ‘absolutely furious’ after hearing about the messages and kicked him out of their bedroom

Ellie told me the sun at the Battersea launch event on Tuesday: ‘Of course this has been difficult for me, but my only concern was our children and that won’t change.’

‘Now I just want to move on.’

She added that Jermaine “supported” her decision to create the brand and is “excited” about what it has in store for her in the future.

Ellie appeared at the launch event with two of the couple’s three children and her business partner Steph Leggit.

She said she and Steph had been working on the brand for three years, having come up with the idea following the birth of her youngest son Jacob.

Ellie and Jermaine have been married for 13 years after tying the knot in 2011.

They live in a £1 million house in Hertfordshire and together they have two daughters, Geneva and Olivia, plus son Jacob.

Jenas also has an older daughter Sancha, 16, from a previous relationship who lives with her mother in the United States.

Jenas with his ex-model wife Ellie Penfold (pictured) at an event in Hyde Park in 2009

The former England international pictured with his wife of 13 years, Ellie Penfold, at Wimbledon in 2024

The couple tied the knot in 2011 and live in a house in Hertfordshire (pictured above)

Jenas was fired by the company after women complained about his workplace behavior and a junior staff member – reportedly previously impressed by the BBC star – raised concerns about alleged flirtatious texts.

The company acted “quickly and decisively” because “the BBC is not slow to take action,” a source claimed.

The married star insisted he did nothing illegal and that the messages were between consenting adults, one of whom made it clear she was interested. He denied ever sending indecent images or videos.

In a lengthy interview with The Sun after his dismissal, the presenter revealed how he did it and Ellie were on holiday with their children in Marbella, Spain, when the BBC contacted him.

He then told his wife that he had been fired because she expected him to start working at The One Show on Monday.

‘I just said, ‘I’ve been fired from the BBC.’ She said, “For what?”, and I said, “For sending text messages that were inappropriate for two girls.”

Bosses at TalkSPORT and TNT Sports later followed suit by letting Jenas go and said they were taking the allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ very seriously.

The station said he would not appear on the show again in the “immediate future” after hearing about the BBC’s sacking of the presenter just before he went live on air.

Jenas pictured in his final episode of the One Show on July 22 this year, alongside Alex Jones

TalkSPORT heard about Jermaine Jenas’ dismissal just before he went live yesterday and says there are no plans for him to appear in the ‘immediate future’

Jermaine Jenas (left) pictured for the L’Oréal Wing Men campaign with Jamie Redknapp and Peter Crouch

Jenas has long been regarded as one of the BBC’s rising stars and was previously touted as a future Match of the Day presenter by Gary Lineker himself.

Speaking to The Sun in 2021, Jenas admitted he would one day like to star in the iconic football show, which fellow ex-Spurs star Lineker has presented since 1999.

He said: In an interview with The Sun in October 2021, Jermaine said: ‘Match Of The Day is the biggest job in television and if I ever got the chance I would of course say yes.

‘If Gary decides to end it, I’m sure the BBC will look around and decide who is best suited for the job.’

Lineker previously announced Jenas as his ‘natural successor’.