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.
“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.”