Vanessa Fritz will change her surname to Valentine to avoid reverting to her birth moniker 

It is not uncommon for women to use their maiden name again after a divorce.

But the BBC breakfast host once known to viewers as Victoria Fritz has taken the unusual step of changing her last name to her mother’s maiden name – Valentine – after she split with husband Dan Fritz.

Miss Valentine, 38, said she “couldn’t go back” to her maiden name, Trench, because it felt “emotionally regressive, stunted, depressing and frankly anti-feminist.”

She was married to Mr. Fritz for 11 years and they have two children together.

She used a lengthy blog post to explain the change to confused viewers, explaining that she had removed her married name Fritz because her marriage had broken down and the name “no longer fits.”

‘Hello. You may notice a small change today. If you’re wondering why, here’s a few words,” she wrote yesterday.

“The reasons for the breakdown of my marriage are private.

And, as I’ve found, through the inordinate amount of conversations, apps, books, social media feeds, podcasts, seminars, webinars, and every other resource I’ve exhausted in a completely clichéd millennial effort to grapple with solving my world, those reasons no longer define me.

‘Call me old-fashioned, but hanging dirty laundry is undignified at the best of times. Plus, I have two wonderful young children to think about. Protecting their well-being and the right to a private life will always be my priority.

She used a lengthy blog post to explain the change to confused viewers, explaining that she removed her married name, Fritz, because her marriage had broken down and the name “no longer fits.”

“But no matter how private I want to keep my private life, there is one aspect that will always remain in public hands as much as in my own hands. And that’s my name.’

The mother-of-two continued, “Here’s the problem. It no longer fits. It does not suit the person who has come forward nor does it truthfully describe the future that is ahead of me. In the recast and rework, I’ve found that my name matters. And so I change it.’

Miss Valentine said she “couldn’t go back” to Trench, so she turned to her “Dubliner mother’s name” for use in all aspects of her life.

She continued: ‘I take it as a tribute to the Irish strength and solidarity who have supported me as I quietly rebuild.’ And she thinks it sounds “epic” and the idea “sounds damn good as loose plans for the future.”

In 2016, she gave birth to one of her children after reading the business news on BBC Breakfast. Her waters broke shortly after she came out of the sky. Mr Fritz was stuck in traffic on the M6 ​​at the time, so her co-presenter Sally Nugent was her birth partner.

Miss Fritz joined the BBC in 2008 after working for Breakingviews, a financial commentary site now part of the international news agency Reuters.