Nick Knowles’ estranged wife Jessica Moor blasts DIY SOS presenter for refusing to pay school fees as divorce battle turns ugly
THE wife of DIY SOS star Nick Knowles accused him of refusing to pay school fees, as their divorce battle turned ugly.
Last year Nick, 55, and Jessica Moor, 30, confirmed they had split after three years of marriage and vowed to focus on their son Eddie.
But Jessica claimed that the TV presenter and father of four had reneged on a plan to send three-year-old Eddie to public school.
She posted a tirade online — accusing the celebrity of “emotional cruelty, abuse and eventually isolation”.
She told her 5,800 Twitter followers: “As all parents can relate, children starting school is an incredibly emotional and happy time.
“I did not submit a submission for Eddie as it has been long agreed by my (soon to be ex) husband that Eddie would be privately educated — a luxury he is in the position to afford, as he has done for all his other children.
“As such, Eddie is enrolled to start private school this September (a school that me and my husband visited and chose together) except that he won’t, as I was advised by my husband’s solicitor that this promise has been withdrawn.”
Jessica — who runs her own media consultancy — went on to accuse Knowles of a campaign of abuse towards her.
She alleged: “After years of intimidation, emotional cruelty, abuse and eventually isolation (that I have kept silent about — of which I have diaries and images), this is the straw that broke the camels back.
“To add insult to injury - like many men in his position of wealth and power he has advised he will not pay any legal fees meaning that I cannot afford to fight for our son’s education. My husband has also said he will not purchase a house or give a settlement of any kind for us, this is disappointing but not unexpected — some people’s generosity is only present in front of TV cameras.”
Jessica added: “Since he was born my sole priority has been Eddie’s well-being and I felt my silence was in his best interest but years of abuse and bullying have taken their toll and now I have to fight, which isn’t in my nature, but I’m fighting for my son. What mother wouldn’t.”
Last night Nick, who is currently filming in Los Angeles, was staying silent.
But friends say he is "extremely hurt" by Jessica’s allegations and categorically denies ever being physically violent towards her.
An insider exclusively told The Sun Online: “It's just not true. Nick is one of the most generous men I know and has made substantial financial provision for Jess and Eddie as he does for other members of his family and his children.
"I am 100% sure that he will find a way of paying those school fees, although he will pay them direct to the school rather than increasing her allowance.
"He has put his other three children through private schools and he’s hardly going to make an exception for Eddie whom he absolutely adores.
“He won’t be drawn into a public slanging match with Jess and wishes her nothing but the best. For heaven's sake, he took her and Eddie on a fantastic luxury holiday to Barbados just a month ago as friends - hardly the actions of a selfish man who won’t pay the bills.
"Jessica is just angry because she asked him to increase his already generous payments to her and he refused."
The couple, who met in 2009, had regularly insisted their difference in age was completely irrelevant.
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Their break-up was muddied by Nick’s fling with actress Gemma Oaten and Jessica’s shock cancer diagnosis last year.
The soon-to-be twice divorced star — who has launched a singing career — recently revealed that he turned to counselling when they split.
A spokeswoman for Nick told The Sun: “No comment.”
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