Davina McCall’s ex-husband, Pet Rescue presenter Matthew Robertson, has shared how his pal ‘saved his life’ during dark times in recent years
Davina McCall’s ex-husband has opened up on getting through a ‘dark time’ – a few days after his former wife tied the knot again for a third time.
The 58-year-old TV presenter walked down the aisle with celebrity hairdresser Michael Douglas in a secret ceremony at London’s Marylebone Town Hall last Friday. Instead of a wedding dress Davina opted to wear a long faux white coat and lace headdress for the occasion, while Michael donned a blue suit jacket and black trousers.
Their nuptials were a surprise, especially after the couple – who got together in 2019 after being friends for years – only got engaged three months ago when Michael popped the question during a holiday in Ibiza. It’s said that the low key wedding with just 10 guests was ‘perfect’ and ‘very intimate’ and ‘everyone who attended is very special in their lives’.
Now Davina’s ex, Pet Rescue host Matthew Robertson – who she shares children Holly, 24, Tilly, 22, and 19-year-old Chester with – has taken to Instagram to thank his best pal for getting him through some tough times – and even crediting him with ‘saving his life’.
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Sharing a selfie with Mark, the 57-year-old wrote: “Today is my birthday, the man in this picture is Mark Diggins, my best friend. He saved my life at a very dark time, he taught me how to live, love and thrive in the outdoors. He is a silent warrior, avoiding the lime light and regarded as one of top mountain guides in the world.”
Matthew continued: “Today is not about me, but to all the amazing, kind and supportive people around me. Thank you Mark and your amazing wife Nikki, thank you to my kids who make me shine and to all the incredible people in my life.”
Up until 2017, Matthew was married to Davina. The couple, who met by chance on Clapham Common, wed in 2000 and went on to have three kids. Their marriage was thought to be one of the strongest in showbusiness until they announced their shock split.
Davina was also married once before Matthew – albeit, very briefly. The Masked Singer host tied the knot with Andrew Leggett in 1997, only to file for divorce after just three months together. The estranged couple were photographed having a tense exchange outside the mysterious shopkeeper’s west London flat shortly before their split, but it remains unknown what exactly caused the separation.
Announcing the news her marriage to Matthew was over, Davina said at the time: “I am very sad to say Matthew and I have separated. Our amazing children are our number one priority.”
In the years that followed Davina admitted in interviews to not being happy but staying because of their kids. She once told The Times: “In the end, we were living completely separate lives. We were hardly talking. It wasn’t arguing. We never argued. We just lived separate lives. And we weren’t happy. I thought, I just want to be happy, and this is really sad. We’re in a marriage and we’re in it for the kids. We love our kids, but we’re just not happy. And I thought, Is that really selfish?’ because my parents divorced and I thought that was so selfish.”
While she didn’t immediately call it quits on her marriage with Matthew, Davina opted instead to attend intensive therapy in a bid to find solutions within. But in the end, she finally concluded: “We loved each other. But sometimes that isn’t enough.”
It is not known if Matthew is in a new relationship since his split with Davina, but the pair are said to “co-parent happily” these days.
In 2020, she told told The Mail on Sunday’s You magazine: “Going through a divorce is a traumatic experience and it is something that needs to be navigated as carefully as possible. Two years on, we have both grown as people and we can now co-parent happily and acknowledge that it was the right thing for us to go through even though it involved absolute emotional turmoil.”
The former Big Brother presenter also opened up about how she navigated her new relationship with celebrity hairdresser Michael, which she purposefully keeps private out of “respect” for her ex, her family and new flame.
She added: ““I will never sit here and go into great details. And the reason for that is all down to respect. I have a huge amount of respect for Matthew, I have respect for my children and the same goes for Michael’s family.
“It would not be right in any way for me to talk about my relationship – it would not be fair at all on any party. No one else involved is in the public eye so it would be even worse for me to drag them in.”
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