Jermaine Jenas's wife, Ellen Penfold, has announced she and the former BBC presenter have split up.
The couple had been married for 13 years, having tied the not after 3 years of dating. They share four children together.
In a statement shared via her Instagram account, Penfold confirmed that the couple have gone their separate ways.
"I never imagined I would have to share something so personal with the public, but given the situation, I feel it’s necessary", she wrote. "After 16 years together and 4 wonderful children, Jermaine and I have decided to part ways".
"We will remain friends and continue to co-parent", she added. "We kindly ask that you respect our children’s privacy during this challenging time".
News of this comes months after Jenas' sacking from the BBC, following complaints over his conduct in the workplace.
The former footballer, who was considered a successor to replace Gary Lineker as Match of the Day host at one stage, had been accused sending inappropriate messages to a female colleague. Following his sacking, Jenas stated that he had done "nothing illegal" and that "inappropriate messages" sent were "between two consenting adults".
"The last six, seven months have been extremely tough for myself and my family", Jenas said back in February.
He added: "But it’s also been a really good opportunity to kind of take stock, have a good look at why you find yourself in these kind of situations, and start to have some honest conversations, really".
"With yourself, with other people, people that are close to you, people that have been very supportive during this period of time and just kind of work your way back to a position where I can get back to doing what I love most".
