For 37 years, Ruby Wax and her husband Ed Bye have stood as one of showbusiness's most enduring partnerships. However, their marriage faced its most severe test in 2011 when a 'rogue nanny' threatened to tear their family apart with damaging false allegations.
The Nanny Who Threatened a Marriage
The American-born comedian, now 72, and her television producer husband, 70, saw their relationship come under intense public scrutiny when rumours emerged that their 13-year marriage was collapsing. Reports at the time suggested the couple were having blazing and tearful rows following allegations that Ruby was having an affair with a 32-year-old internet entrepreneur.
What made these claims particularly shocking was their timing. They emerged just days after Ruby had publicly praised her husband in an interview, describing unflappable Ed as 'selfless' and someone who 'sacrifices a lot'. She had told journalists: 'Ed is normal, he can make me laugh and he's brought balance to my life.'
Ruby's Truth About the 'Insane' Nanny
In April 2012, Ruby Wax finally broke her silence to set the record straight about what had really happened. Speaking exclusively to the Evening Standard, she revealed the truth behind the marriage breakdown rumours.
'Don't believe any of those stories about our marriage break-up,' Ruby asserted. 'Ed and I are very much together - it's just that we had a nanny who turned out to be insane.'
The trouble began almost immediately after hiring the nanny. 'On day three, she told me she'd been abused by her stepfather,' Ruby recalled. When Ed complained to the nanny agency, the situation escalated dramatically.
After being fired, the nanny became 'really inflamed' and invented the affair allegation. 'However baseless the accusation, you can only imagine the tension it produced with Ed and me,' Ruby explained. 'She invented the whole thing. But that's all in the past now, and Ed and I are stronger for it.'
A Partnership That Endures
The couple first met in the 1980s when Ed directed Ruby in her sitcom Girls On Top. Interestingly, Ruby initially didn't think he was interested in her romantically. It was fellow actress Joan Greenwood who convinced her to give him a chance.
They married in May 1988 and have built a family life with their three children: son Max, now 37, and daughters Maddy, 35, and Marina, 32. Despite the very public nature of the 2011 scandal, the family remained united.
Ruby has described their partnership as 'unconventional' but strong. In a 2021 interview with The Sun's Fabulous magazine, she explained: 'I have my friends, he has his friends. I don't assume we have the same tastes. It's understood we both have different careers. We're together but we have different tastes and jobs - and that's OK.'
While Ed Bye might be less famous than his wife, he boasts an impressive television career having worked on comedy classics including Red Dwarf, Bottom, The Vicar of Dibley, My Family and French and Saunders. He has also collaborated on many of Ruby's own shows throughout their marriage.
Their children have followed creative paths too, with daughters Maddy and Marina hosting their own comedy podcast called Siblings Comedy, while Max works as a coder. Ruby has proudly described their family dinner table conversations as 'just hilarious'.
Despite the temporary turmoil caused by the rogue nanny's allegations, Ruby Wax and Ed Bye have proven that even showbusiness marriages can withstand serious challenges when built on genuine foundation.
