Heartbroken Denise van Outen ditches Gogglebox star fiancé over his phone sex and dates with other women
HEARTBROKEN telly star Denise van Outen has ditched her fiancé – after discovering he has been having phone sex and dates with other women.
The devastated singer and actress, 47, asked Eddie Boxshall to leave the home where they are regularly seen on Channel 4’s Celebrity Gogglebox.
A source said: “It’s the very last thing she expected to happen. She thought this was for ever — but while she has been out at work he’s been sat in her home betraying her trust.”
Denise was planning to tie the knot this year with Eddie.
But she asked him to leave their home after discovering he had been swapping raunchy messages and calls with women he met online and hooking up with another for secret dates.
A source close to the couple, who had been together for seven years, said: “Denise is both furiously angry and utterly heartbroken. It’s the very last thing she expected to happen after she had been so happy with Eddie.
“She thought this was for ever. But while she has been out at work he’s been sat in her home betraying her trust.”
The source said devastated Denise, mum to daughter Betsy, 11, from her marriage to Lee Mead, can see no future with Eddie, who has two grown-up children from a previous relationship.
‘Totally shattered’
They went on: “Their families are close, and they get on great with each other’s children. But the trust is totally shattered and she just doesn’t see a way back for their relationship.
“Eddie has moved out to stay with a friend nearby and he’s admitted to some of it already after being pushed for some answers. But Denise is determined to move on with her life.
“She’s angry and upset but she’s always worked hard to support herself and stand on her own two feet, so that’s what she’s determined to do again.”
Denise first began to suspect Eddie, 47, may have been unfaithful when industry rumours began to circulate about his closeness to other women. After being asked about the allegations by The Sun, she confronted him and was shocked to learn the full extent of his behaviour.
The pal added: “At first she found out there had been messages being swapped online, which upset her of course and she confronted him, though perhaps there could have been a way forward.
“But when she scratched a bit further below the surface she found there was more to it, including trips into London to meet someone else. So it just felt like too much to patch up and gloss over. It’s a great shame. She feels she has always been very loyal and supportive of Eddie — but has been betrayed badly in return.”
When she scratched a bit further below the surface she found there was more to it, including trips into London to meet someone else. So it just felt like too much to patch up and gloss over.
A pal
Denise asked Eddie — dad to son Jordan, 25, and daughter Leah, 22, — to leave their Essex home two months ago.
Her spokesman said: “Denise is understandably upset about the news, but she remains optimistic for the future. Her priority is looking after her daughter and continuing to work on the many exciting projects she has coming up this year.”
Stage-schooled performer Denise was initially a theatre actress before landing small parts in TV dramas including The Bill. But it was her co-hosting job on Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast alongside Johnny Vaughan from 1997 which made her a household name. She also had a high-profile relationship with funk rocker Jay Kay of Jamiroquai fame.
Denise went on to land major West End and Broadway musical roles, including the lead in Chicago. She also appeared as a judge on talent contests including Any Dream Will Do — where she would meet her first husband Lee — and Born to Shine.
More recently she has been the narrator of The Only Way Is Essex since its launch in 2010, and also starred as a contestant in reality shows including Strictly, Dancing On Ice and The Masked Singer.
She is also a regular weekly presenter on Channel 4 magazine show Steph’s Packed Lunch.
Her priority is looking after her daughter and continuing to work on the many exciting projects she has coming up this year.
Her spokesman
In the Nineties she earned herself a reputation as a hard-partying “ladette” — though her lifestyle is now much more restrained.
She said: “I don’t go out now to get drunk but I think when I was younger we did. You’d go out with your mates with the purpose of just getting really drunk.
“But now when I go out I want to have a good conversation and I want to remember it the next day.”
THE HIGHS VAN LOWS
- 1997 to 2000 — The Big Breakfast. Denise co-hosted the Channel 4 morning hit alongside Johnny Vaughan. The gig proved to be her big break after minor TV jobs.
- 1998 to 2001 — Jay Kay relationship. The couple spoke openly about plans to marry. The Jamiroquai frontman is said to have penned 2001 single Little L about their split.
- 2001/2 — West End & Broadway success. Denise played Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago in London and the US.
- 2003 to 2005 — Richard Traviss. She got engaged to the nightclub owner but they stayed pals after split.
- 2007 — James Lance. Had fling with actor.
- 2009 to 2013 — marriage and a family. She got hitched to actor Lee Mead after meeting on TV show Any Dream Will Do. A year later they welcomed daughter Betsy. 2014 — started dating Eddie Boxshall. The couple regularly appeared together on Channel 4’s Celebrity Gogglebox.
- 2010 to now — Towie. She narrates the ITV2 series and also appeared on the 10th anniversary special.
- 2012 — Strictly. Denise lost to gymnast Louis Smith in the BBC1 show’s final.
- 2021 — Dancing On Ice. She quit the ITV show after dislocating her shoulder and fracturing three bones in rehearsals.
Dear Deidre
By Sally Land, Dear Deidre Editor
DENISE will be reeling after discovering her fiance has been secretly sexting and meeting up with other women.
And no one can blame her for deciding to walk away from the man who she supported for the last seven years. That her loyalty has been betrayed multiple times will smart the hard-working presenter.
It is possible for couples to recover when one or the other strays — and it could even end up strengthening their relationship. But to learn there is more than one woman involved will make that possibility more remote.
Discovering Eddie had been sexting with someone else, which is still a form of cheating as it took his attention away from Denise, is hard enough. To learn he’d also been meeting a woman in real life would understandably have been the final straw.
Once the trust has gone, it is very hard to rebuild. The wrongful partner needs to own their mistakes — and be honest about the extent of them — and to tirelessly rebuild that bond.
Denise deserves to be treated far better. Meanwhile serial cheaters often have such low self esteem they flit from encounter to encounter in an attempt to mask the empty self-loathing they feel.
They prowl for their next exciting conquest to divert them from their relationship which, once taken for granted, seems dull.
- If you would like help with a problem from one of my team of counsellors email deardeidre@the-sun.co.uk.