James Haskell has revealed that he initially believed Chloe Madeley had a romantic interest in her father, Richard Madeley, after seeing a photograph of the Good Morning Britain presenter on her wall during their early dating days. The former rugby player recounted the awkward mix-up on the No Parental Guidance podcast, explaining that he had no idea Chloe was the daughter of Richard and Judy Finnigan when they first met.
Dating Confusion
Haskell, who dated Madeley starting in 2014 and married her in 2018 before separating in 2023, shared the story of their first night together. He said, “I didn’t know Chloe was their daughter until I went on a date with her and it was the first night we spent together. She took me back to her parents’ house, and I remember there was a picture of Richard on the wall. I thought, Chloe’s into a bit of kinky s***. I was like, I don’t look anything like that guy: he’s tall, dark and handsome and I was like, this isn’t going to last.”
After returning to bed, Haskell asked, “Why have you got a picture of Richard Madeley on the wall?” to which Chloe replied, “He’s my dad.” Haskell recalled, “I was like, ‘Right, okay.’” The retired Wasps player admitted feeling red-faced about the misunderstanding.
Reflections on Marriage and Split
In 2024, Chloe Madeley opened up about the couple’s divorce, describing the final year of their marriage as “dark and incredibly scary.” She said, “When you tell people that you are divorcing, everyone sees it as such a negative thing. They say: ‘This is going to be so hard for you.’ And, yes, it is, but the hardest bit was when we were married. The last year of the marriage was awful. It was so dark, painful, and one of the worst periods of my life. It’s a good thing we ended it.”
The former couple share a daughter, Bodhi, who they said at the time of their split was their “sole focus.” They committed to co-parenting “with nothing but love.”
Haskell's Dating Journey
Haskell has since appeared on the reality show Celebs Go Dating, where his mother Susie offered a blunt opinion about his ex-wife. During a dinner party, Susie said, “I’m not sure where he’s gone wrong because prior to his marriage, I met lots of lovely girlfriends. I do have quite a strong opinion on why I think it went wrong. You can’t have two stars because you have them competing for the floor space the whole time.”
