Grieving Ant McPartlin is struggling following the death of his much-loved Labrador, and has reportedly decided he can no longer be at home around Hurley’s toys
Devastated Ant McPartlin has decided to leave the country. He can’t face being reminded about his beloved dog Hurley, it has been claimed. The TV star is struggling to come to terms with the death of the Labrador, after finding out he would not recover last week while working on Britain’s Got Talent. He made a speedy dash to the vet to be with the pup before he was sadly put to sleep.
Ant credited Hurley for helping him through one of the most challenging periods in his life when he career was put into doubt after his arrest for drink-driving, which followed struggles with painkiller and alcohol addiction initiated by a 2015 knee operation. It was during that time that he split from wife Lisa Armstrong, who he saw for the first time in years at the west London vet surgery.
The TV favourite, who shared the dog with his ex, even named one of his companies after his pet. He and Dec Donnelly are both directors of Hurley Promotions Ltd. They also have a company named after Dec’s dog, called Rocky Promotions Ltd.
But he wants to mourn the 12-year-old in private and has decided to jet out and take a break because he could not bear to be around Hurley’s toys at his family home. “He’s inconsolable,” a source told The Sun.
“He absolutely adored Hurley and, naturally, he’s devastated. It came as a massive shock to everyone. Hurley has been a part of his life for 12 years, so to lose him like this is crushing. He said he couldn’t be around Hurley’s things as he grieved.”
Ant and Lisa are said to have come together in a consulting room at a veterinary practice in west London, near to his home, putting their personal grievances aside, the Mail report. Since their split, they are said to have kept their distance but they put their history aside after hearing the devastating news about Hurley.
Lisa was famously married to I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! host Ant after meeting as teenagers, but after 11 years of marriage, they were granted a divorce in 2018. At one stage they were TV’s golden couple – but the pair had a host of ups and downs during their marriage, including their struggle to start a family.
Make-up artist to the stars Lisa, who helps to create the glitz and glamour on Strictly Come Dancing, has reportedly found love with actor Grant Kilburn, 34, with the pair quietly dating since December.
The 49-year-old is thought to have been introduced to Grant by her pals, former Strictly pro Kevin Clifton and his partner Stacey Dooley. Stacey and Kevin, who also have a two-year-old daughter Minnie after falling for each other on the hit BBC show in 2018, had been on tour with Grant in the play 2:22 A Ghost Story until the end of 2025.
Speaking about his mental health now, Ant told Ferne Cotton’s podcast Happy Place this month: “I feel pretty good. I work at it a lot.
“Because I’m sober, there’s things I work at daily, gratitude lists of an evening, little prayers, so it’s something you constantly have to check in with, and because of that comes a gratitude for everything you do, and for life, and for work, and friendships, relationships, love.”
He revealed that he found his early forties “tough” to deal with and welcomed turning 50 years old in November last year. In an interview with The Times he said: “Turning 50 for me was great because my early forties was a really tough time. These last few years, it’s the happiest I’ve been in a long, long time. What changes as you get older, especially being sober as well, for me, is the purpose.”
He added: “When you’re live on I’m a Celebrity in Australia and you’re in the moment with your best friend, there’s nowhere else I want to be, but as soon as we finish, we go back to our apartments by the beach and we’re with our families. That’s where we want to be right then.”
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