Vanessa Feltz has been putting on a brave face following her split from fiancé Ben Ofoedu, admitting she now wants to “rise like a phoenix”. But behind closed doors, the heartbroken star has been left in pieces, a source has told us.
“Vanessa has been stepping out with a smile on her face and getting on with things but she is understandably in bits about the whole thing,” a pal revealed.
“She is beyond devastated. She’s distracting herself with her work, which is like her therapy. She is finding it extremely difficult, but she’s attempting to walk away from this with her head held high.”
Vanessa, 60, announced her split from Phats & Small singer Ben, 50, last week after 16 years together, amid claims he cheated on her with “several women”.
The TV and radio presenter reportedly discovered his alleged infidelities thanks to a “trail” of emails and social media messages.
In an emotional video on Instagram, Vanessa explained why she’s been absent on social media for three weeks as she discussed the breakdown of their relationship.
“I honestly didn’t know what to say on Instagram, but now it’s clear that it’s over and I really do feel that once the trust in a relationship is gone, you can’t really get it back,” she began. “And so I just wanted to say obviously I feel incredibly sad and I’m pretty disappointed and shocked and all those horrible things but also full of resolve. I’m not going to let this defeat me.”
She went on to say that she’s “very grateful to be alive” and wants to “carry on feeling that way” and to “celebrate”. She added, “I want to find fun and laughter anywhere I can and I know it’s not going to be easy, but I’m absolutely determined to do it.”
Celebrity friends rushed to support her, with her This Morning colleague Holly Willoughby writing, “We simply love you to bits.“ Phillip Schofield also said, “Your This Morning family are always here for you and we love you so much,” while Ruth Langsford wrote, “Sending you the BIGGEST hug. You are a wonderful woman, mother, grandmother and friend.”
Carol Vorderman added, “He’s a… and you have survived far far worse V. You are a survivor and I can’t wait to be going out with you, as you know.”
Our source says that the outpouring of love and support has been a huge comfort for Vanessa as she tries to start a new chapter in her life. “Vanessa has so much support and she’s really feeling it,” the source said. “Her friends and family have emphasised that there can’t be a way back to Ben, but she knows herself it’s over. There’s no going back. She’s trying to move on.”
Speaking on her TalkTV show last week, Vanessa said, “I have said I’m very sad. I’m very shocked, but I am going to soldier forth. I hope to rise like a phoenix from the ashes and all of that.”
She continued, “Meanwhile, I’m feeling that broken-hearted thing, you know where your heart hurts. You know, you feel as if you know the blood’s kind of stopping pumping halfway round. Then you kind of take a bit of a breath and shake a little bit, then it starts pumping again.”
She also appeared on This Morning as she returned to her job on the show as agony aunt, admitting she feels “terribly humiliated” and “can’t sleep at all”. She said, “I think I’m feeling just like anyone else would after the end of a 16-year relationship, which I had my heart and soul in.
“I believed wholeheartedly in it and so when you have to end a relationship, it is very hard. I’m feeling it just like anybody else.”
She added, “I’m not alone and also, I’ve been through it before – it’s not like I’m a stranger to this stuff. I’ve already had a horrible divorce, so it’s quite familiar this awful feeling. But I’m absolutely not going to let it grind me down, I’m just not. However I feel inside, I’m not going to put it on the outside.”
Meanwhile, Ben, who is thought to have moved out of their £3.5million home in north London, took to Instagram to break his silence, posting a broken heart emoji on his Stories.
Previously opening up about their “extremely fiery” relationship, Vanessa said, “I think he’s very hot-tempered and I think he thinks I’m hot-tempered and we argue a lot, but we also have a lot of fun – we talk a lot.”
Vanessa and Ben met in 2005 and the pair got engaged a year later. It came after her divorce from surgeon Michael Kurer, the father of her daughters Allegra, 37, and Saskia, 34, in 2000, following a 17-year marriage.
Speaking about her split from Michael, Vanessa said, “I remember getting home from a wedding with him and thought he was getting ready for bed. The next thing I saw was he was getting dressed and packing a case and said, ‘I’m leaving.’”
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