Shamed former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys had life-saving heart op after ex-wife forced him to see doctor despite him ‘cheating’ on her with younger woman
The former Sky Sports presenter's estranged wife alleges he had an affair with 28-year-old Lucie Rose
SHAMED football host Richard Keys had a life-saving heart operation after his estranged wife forced him to see a doctor about high blood pressure.
Julia Keys said she kept pestering him even though the former Sky Sports presenter, 60, is alleged to have cheated on her with a young lawyer.
Heartbroken Julia, 57, a nurse, says surgeons said he would have been dead within a month.
Richard had the op to treat a clogged artery in June at London's Royal Brompton Hospital.
But he kept it secret until New Year’s Eve when he tweeted a photo of himself in a hospital bed wearing an oxygen mask.
He wrote: “Emotional now & I’ll regret this tomorrow. Not a great year, mostly my fault — but this wasn’t. Thank you to everybody for saving my life & letting me see 2018.
"Let’s all have a happy & healthy New Year.”
Richard, who now works for beIN SPORTS in Qatar after resigning from his Sky Sports role in 2011 over a sexism storm, denied the cheating claims.
But he split from Julia in May 2016 amid the allegations he had an affair with Lucie Rose, 28, a former friend of their ex-Hollyoaks star daughter Jemma, 32.
Julia first spotted a problem with Richard’s health a couple of months before the split.
The mum of two said: “If it wasn't for me, he’d be dead by now.
“When I was living out in Doha with him I took his blood pressure one day and I noticed it was really high. I took him to see a GP in Doha.
" He was diagnosed with a thoracic aortic aneurysm. As a result of that, he was put on medication.”
Richard returned to the UK to see a consultant last summer and Julia went with him.
She said: “The consultant said he could have an operation but he didn’t have to have it right away.
“Richard was saying he’d rather wait but I said, ‘Absolutely not.
"You’re going to get this done now because I don’t think it should be left’.
“When they opened him up, they said he would have dropped down dead within a month.
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“I forced the issue because he is my children’s father and we have been together a long time.
“I wanted the best for him despite what had happened.”
Daughter Jemma appeared in court last month and denied bombarding Lucie with abusive texts. She will stand trial in March.