James Haskell has opened up about his regrets over his relationship with Chloe Madeley following a recent dinner meet-up for her 39th birthday.
The former rugby union player began dating Chloe, daughter of TV icons Richard and Judy, in 2014. They married in a lavish ceremony in Berkshire in 2018. In February 2022, Haskell announced on Good Morning Britain that they were expecting a baby girl. Their daughter Bodhi was born later that summer.
The couple announced their separation in October 2023 while their ITV reality show, Chloe Madeley: A Family Affair, was airing. They said in a joint statement: 'We had not planned on releasing a statement at this time - certainly not while the television show was airing - but constant speculation about our marriage has, unfortunately, forced our hand.'
Birthday dinner sparks reflection
Last week, Chloe turned 39 and shared on social media that she had dinner with James to mark the occasion. The former couple smiled for pictures together with Bodhi. Chloe captioned the post: 'Birthday weekend.' One image showed them posing alone, James holding a cigar.
Appearing on the Nolans Uncensored podcast, James, who played over 70 times for England, discussed challenging periods in their relationship. 'In my relationship, you know, did she marry a rugby player that was for basically 11 months a year playing and having no weekends and couldn't plan? Yes. Did she think I think when I retired that I was going to be around all the time? But I was always a workaholic. So that was always going to be quite tricky,' he said.
Regrets over time away
James revealed he once visited Ibiza 12 times in one year and admitted he spent too much time away after Chloe gave birth. He noted that he 'shouldn’t have done' all the trips. 'Should I have been around more? We can all look back on past relationships and go, "Maybe I shouldn't have done that" or "We should have noticed that and talked about it". That was only one element of it,' he stated.
These comments follow an appearance on the Parental Guidance podcast weeks earlier, where he said he probably 'didn't support her enough' prior to their split. '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 said.
Ongoing friendship
Despite their separation, James said Chloe remains a 'good friend' and they are 'very transparent with each other.' He added that he feels 'lucky to have that kind of trust and support.' Opening up about how Chloe encouraged him to join Celebs Go Dating, he noted: 'I was on the fence, and she encouraged me to go for it. She's a good friend and my co-parent, and we're very transparent with each other. I feel lucky to have that support, it makes everything feel collaborative, and it's a relationship I truly value.'
