Jermaine Jenas has said his wife of 13 years, model Ellie Penfold, is “raging” after he told her he had been dismissed by the BBC for sending inappropriate messages to two female colleagues.
The former football pro was sacked by the BBC from his presenting roles on Match of the Day and The One Show after a female colleague raised concerns about unsolicited messages.
Jenas, 41, apologised on Friday (23 August) as he admitted to sending the messages to women at the BBC, while strongly denying any criminality. He denied sending sexual pictures or videos.
Among his admissions was that he “frantically” sexted a woman over 24 hours after getting her phone number at a work event.
Jenas said he was “ashamed” and “deeply sorry” in an interview with The Sun newspaper, as he revealed that his wife has kicked him out of their bedroom at the home they share with their children in Hertfordshire.
“We’ve not really spoken properly since,” he told the publication. “She’s absolutely raging.”
Jenas said that he had initially lied to his wife after hoping he would only be suspended by the BBC: “I had to tell her by Monday evening because I knew then that I’d been fired.
“I just said: ‘I’ve been sacked from the BBC.’ She said: ‘What for?’ and I said: ‘For sending text messages that weren’t appropriate to two girls.’”
He continued: “Ellie is absolutely raging. She’s human. When I see her now, she is just making sure the children are OK.”
Jenas said there had also been “difficult conversations” with his two eldest children, aged 11 and 16: “They’re obviously of an age where they’re aware of social media… that’s been hard.
“I’ve let everyone down,” he said. “Even my dog looked at me disappointed.”
He said that it was “time to own” his mistakes: “I have been behaving in a certain way that’s just not been acceptable within our marriage. Ellie is completely innocent within all this. All she’s doing is at home, working her heart out, looking after my children.”
He concluded: “The overriding factor is just how sorry I am to everybody.”
Jenas made a successful switch into presenting after his professional football career came to an end, earning between £190,000 and £194,999 for his work on the FA Cup, Match of the Day and the World Cup.
His departure will have caused additional headaches at the BBC, as it is still reeling from the scandal surrounding former newsreader Huw Edwards and allegations of abuse on the set of one of its biggest shows, Strictly Come Dancing.
On Friday, former Countdown star Carol Vorderman gave a rousing speech at the Edinburgh TV Festival, in which she delivered scathing criticism of the broadcaster and its handling of recent controversies.
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