TV Host and Athlete Husband Are Divorcing

Longtime Countryfile presenter Helen Skelton and her husband Richie Myler are getting a divorce. After eight years of marriage, Skelton announced in an April 25 Instagram Story that she and her rugby player husband have decided to split. Skelton shared the news just four months after she and Myler welcomed their third child together, daughter Elsie. The former couple are also parents to Ernie, 6, and Louis, 5.

In her Instagram Story update, which came just weeks after speculation first swirled that the couple was headed towards divorce, Skelton shared, “Very sad to say Richie and I are no longer a couple. He has left the family home. We will be doing our best to co-parent our small children.” At the time, Skelton did not share further details about their decision to split, and neither she nor Myler have offered further comment on the end of their relationship. However, the Daily Mail reported that Myler is now dating Stephanie Thirkill, the daughter of the multi-millionaire President of the Leeds Rhinos club he plays for. Details of Myler and Thirkill’s relationship remain unclear. The two reportedly first met at a rugby dinner last fall.

“Helen is absolutely devastated. Now she is contemplating life without him while he has moved on with his new partner,” a source told the Daily Mail. “Richie is insisting there was no crossover, that he began the romance with Stephanie after their marriage collapsed, but Helen feels let down. They are still married, and their baby is literally four months old. She thought their marriage was safe and secure and is totally shocked by what’s happened.”

Despite Myler’s reported insistence that there was no crossover in the relationships, The Sun reported that Skelton, suspecting infidelity, has since hired a private investigator “to help uncover the truth.” The outlet also claimed Skelton contacted Thrikill’s estranged husband Richard Sugden “to compare notes on the timeline of the relationship.”

At this time, neither Skelton nor Myler have responded to reports alleging infidelity. The pair, who tied the knot in 2013, has not further addressed their split, though they have since removed pictures of one another from their Instagram accounts. The two have separately continued posting on their accounts, with Skelton sharing numerous photos with her children. In late May, she returned to TV after taking a step back following her divorce announcement. Myler, meanwhile, broke his Instagram silence on April 29 when he shared a video to his Instagram Story showing him inside a kid’s gym.