Chloe Madeley has said she is "happier than she's been in years" as she posted holiday photographs with her ex-husband James Haskell and their four-year-old daughter Bodhi. The former couple, who separated in 2023 after nearly a decade together, are not thought to have rekindled their romance. However, they now get along well enough to have taken a family holiday together to the South of France.
Holiday Snaps from the South of France
Sharing images from their trip, the 39-year-old fitness influencer — daughter of television personalities Judy Finnigan and Richard Madeley — posed in a bikini while cuddling Bodhi. Other photographs showed them swimming in the sea, relaxing by the pool at their villa, and enjoying meals out. In a gesture to her ex-husband, she also included father-daughter pictures from their break on the French Riviera, including several of James carrying Bodhi on his shoulders.
In the caption, Chloe quoted a line from F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of The Great Gatsby, in a letter he once wrote to his friend, fellow writer Ernest Hemingway. The quote read: "With our being back in a nice villa on my beloved Riviera, I'm happier than I've been for years. It's one of those strange, precious and all too transitory moments when everything in one's life seems to be going well. F. Scott Fitzgerald."
Reflections on the Split
Their joint holiday comes weeks after the former rugby player turned DJ, James, 41, admitted his part in the breakdown of their five-year marriage. He expressed regret at not being around more after Chloe gave birth in 2022, saying: "I had 12 weeks in Ibiza just after Chloe had had a baby. Should I have done all of them? No? Should I have been around more? Yes! I had a lot of DJ gigs away. For the first time that part of my career was going well. I would stay out an extra night and wouldn't come home, and I probably didn't support her enough. I didn't get that stuff right."
He added: "Did Chloe marry a rugby player that was playing for 11 months a year and having no weekends? Yes. Did she think when I retired that I was going to be around? I was always a workaholic, so that was always going to be tricky." Reflecting on his current situation, James said he had "got to the point where actually I'm very happy with work and life and stuff."
Co-Parenting and New Friendship
Following a "volatile" divorce, Chloe revealed how she and James had "managed to co-parent respectfully throughout all the trauma and toxicity." She said: "We've managed to come out the other side — very surprisingly to me more than anyone — having formed a completely new bond and new relationship and a new friendship." The turnaround was such that James was invited to celebrate her 39th birthday in July. The trio enjoyed fish tacos, and Chloe shared pictures of her special day on social media, along with an image of a dinner date with her parents, Richard and Judy, who recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.
