Comic Lucy Beaumont Speaks out on Stage After Announcing Her Divorce

Lucy Beaumont is taking her recent divorce to the stage. A Metro reviewer attended a performance at London's Bloomsbury Theatre on Saturday, where Beaumont performed the show The Trouble and Strife, which ironically is also a way of saying "wife" using Cockney rhyming slang (a kind of slang in which certain words are substituted for other words that rhyme with them).

'I didn't have time to change the show,' the 40-year-old stand-up comedian quipped during her set. The Meet The Richardsons star is referring to her announcement a little over a week ago that she had divorced fellow British comic Jon Richardson after nine years of marriage. 

While Richardson is well-known for his roles as captain of the 8 Out of Ten Cats and as a participant on TV panel shows, Beaumont is an actor, television writer (she wrote Meet the Richardsons, Hullraisers), and stand-up comedian. 

The reviewer noted that this is clearly stated in The Trouble and Strife's show description. "Award-winning stand-up comedian BEFORE she met Jon Richardson, Live at the Apollo & Taskmaster star and BAFTA nominee Lucy Beaumont…" it read.

The Hullraisers star began her show by acknowledging the elephant in the room, explaining how she and and her ex-husband separated "last year" but decided to announce it now after a news publication allegedly "found out."  

"We're friends," she concluded, stating: "It's the best for everybody." Besides that story, the reviewer said the only other reference to the divorce came from their seven-year-old daughter, who warned Beaumont not to burn sage in the living room as "Dad will disappear." 

Richardson and Beaumont released a joint statement on Instagram regarding their separation, saying the decision was made "jointly and amicably." "After nine years of marriage, we would like to announce that we have separated," their posts read. "We have jointly and amicably made the difficult decision to divorce and go our separate ways. As our only priority is managing this difficult transition for our daughter, we would ask that our privacy is respected at this sensitive time to protect her well-being. We will be making no further comment."

In 2013, Richardson and Beaumont began dating, and two years later, they married. In an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, Richardson explained how comedian Roisin Conaty set up the couple. He said, "Roisin Conaty set us up, and for months I said 'if you like this girl don't get us involved because I'll ruin her f—ing life'." He later explained his reluctance. "I was very depressed and I thought, why drag someone else down with me."

Although Richardson admitted to saving Beaumont on his phone as "My Wife" before they met, he eventually agreed to date her. A year after getting married, in 2016, the couple welcomed a daughter named Elsie Louise.