Fearne Cotton, the much-loved British presenter, revealed this month that she and husband Jesse Wood have parted ways after 10 years of marriage. The announcement came on December 13, 2024, via Instagram, where Fearne expressed her heartbreak. She asked for privacy for their family, including their two children, Rex, 11 and Honey, 8.
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The news comes after her recent health scare involving the discovery of two benign tumours in her jaw.
Everything we know about Fearne Cotton’s split
Fearne shocked her followers with the Instagram statement:
It is with a heavy heart that I let you all know that Jesse and I are ending our marriage. Our priority has been, and always will be, our children.
While the news of the split may be at a surprising time, the cracks in their relationship are not entirely new. In past interviews, Fearne has opened up about the challenges they faced.
In 2019, Fearne admitted that Jesse’s busy touring schedule with his band, Reef, had affected their relationship. She described one particularly intense argument in a park that left them questioning the future of their marriage, reports MailOnline. She told her Red Magazine column readers at that time:
Love takes hard work - and no one wants to hear that. This year, Jesse and I hit a rough patch…we were both desperately clinging on to our marriage.
The pandemic is understood to have amplified the strain. Speaking candidly with Alan Carr on his Life’s a Beach podcast, she confessed that the pandemic killed her and Jesse’s sex life. She said:
Sexy time hasn't happened for so long in terms of me going anywhere.
Admitting that the two do not get time for each other, Fearne added:
We have had no time alone because of the ridiculous pandemic…
Despite the hardships, the couple seemed to want to make their relationship work. Just earlier this year, the couple marked their 10th anniversary by re-wearing her wedding outfits.
Unfortunately, their efforts did not rekindle the spark and they decided to go their own way.
How did Fearne Cotton and Jesse Wood meet?
Fearne and Jesse’s story began in Ibiza in 2011—an unexpected meeting during a girls’ holiday that Fearne wasn’t initially keen on taking. She met Jesse, the son of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, on this trip. The two shook hands, and, in Fearne’s words, ‘the world around me slowed down.’
That evening, instead of dancing with their friends, the couple spent 7 hours talking to each other. Fearne described the scene as ‘utterly ridiculous, but perfectly magical.’
Just like their meeting, their first official date was equally unconventional, reports The Express. Fearne invited Jesse to her home, where the two shared a bottle of vodka and cigarettes instead of a traditional dinner. She previously said:
We definitely didn't eat. For our first date, I was a bit nervous…So he turned up at my house with a plastic bag with a bottle of vodka in it, and we drank that and we did not eat a thing.
By 2013, they were engaged, and in 2014, they tied the knot in an intimate London ceremony attended by showbiz royalty.
Read more:
Inside Jane Moore’s secret split: Why she kept her separation with Gary Farrow private for a year
Gogglebox's Izzi reveals she has split from the father of her two children: 'I've been single'
Sources used:
MailOnline: Fearne Cotton confessed the pandemic killed her and husband Jesse Wood's sex life as couple split after 10 years of marriage
The Express: Fearne Cotton's alcohol-fuelled first date with husband and 'chaotic' life before split
Red Magazine: Fearne Cotton shares the moment she met her husband Jesse
