Chloe Madeley has revealed the real reason behind her split from husband James Haskell in a new video and has detailed the moment she knew it was over.
The fitness guru, 37, and former rugby player James, 39, announced their split in October 2023, after a decade together and five years of marriage.
Appearing on Olivia Attwood‘s So Wrong It’s Right podcast which was revealed on Thursday, Chloe opened up about the breakdown of their marriage.
She shared: ‘I’m one of those people that needs structure and routine.
‘My ex, and I, I think, one of the reasons things became so hard for us was because he thrives in chaos.
Chloe Madeley revealed the real reason for her split from ‘chaotic’ husband James Haskell and detailed the moment she knew it was over in Olivia Attwood ‘s So Wrong It’s Right podcast
The fitness guru, 37, and former rugby player James, 39, announced their split in October 2023, after a decade together and five years of marriage, (pictured in January 2020)
‘His schedule, I don’t even remember when he was in England for a full week. He’s all over the place and I just can’t do that. Can’t live like that.’
‘I think I knew that I was really unhappy,’ she added. ‘And I think he knew that he was really unhappy too. But I don’t think either of us ever would have predicted that we were going to break up. Ever.’
But Chloe said she remembers the exact moment where she declared she was convinced the relationship was done.
‘I swear to God it was just like one day, I remember exactly where we were – I remember the day, the time, the temperature, the outfit, everything – I just remember like just saying it, “I don’t think that we should do this any more”, but really meaning it and it kind of went from there.
‘It doesn’t just happen – it didn’t for us anyway. It was farmed up as time passed, and it’s still like that now.’
The daughter of TV stars Richard and Judy also said that she could have ‘never’ predicted their break up.
When asked how long they have been separated, she revealed: ‘Oh my god like, I’ll just be honest, like exactly a year.
‘We kind of started to have the conversation in August last year. I think people think it’s like a specific date.
‘As the days, weeks, months pass you realise nobody’s fighting for this. You realise you’re getting more and more serious about this thing that you’re just talking about initially.
‘And so slowly, slowly it dissipated, but the first conversation started happening in August last year.’
Chloe said the transition from being in a couple to co-parents has been tough, as life brings many moments where you have to relive the pain.
‘There are still moments now where we kind of boomerang a bit,’ she said. ‘Moving out the house was a boomerang moment where you have to relive it again. And then we were both at Glastonbury and we ran into each other. I was with all of our mutual friends and he was with his more DJ friends and that was a weird moment.
‘So, you kind of relive it sometimes. You know, here’s this person I have a child with and I was, I’m married to him and [we were together for] 11 years. It’s a long time.’
The pair share daughter Bodhi, one, together and co-parent successfully
Despite finding things ‘difficult’, Chloe and James have remained focused on their daughter and have been spotted out for dinner as a family
But Chloe has hopes that they can build a relationship as friends, as she added: ‘But you know, it was never just instantaneous. James and I were really good friends, I just want to be clear. We don’t work together romantically. We do work as friends, by and large, we’re very good friends.
‘We spend loads of time together. Me, him and Bodhi are often at Sunday lunch together. He was with me on my birthday to basically be the parent while I got drunk.
‘And I think, and I hope, that over time that is only going to get better, so you know, actually we made the right decision. We’re happier and we’re closer in many ways now than we were then.’
She isn’t ready to date again just yet though, despite downloading some dating apps.
Chloe said: ‘Me and my friend maybe got a little bit drunk last week and we downloaded a few [dating] apps. I’m not active on them at all, I’m not ready to date yet, but I can’t see myself actually being active on any of these apps because that’s not how I fancy people.
‘I get bored talking to someone I haven’t met. I’m not interested in adding someone I don’t know into the mix so I’m really hoping that I meet someone in real life.’
Last month Chloe’s dad Richard revealed that despite the end of their marriage, both his daughter and James are in a ‘very happy uncoupling’.
The couple confirmed their separation in a joint statement released in October after appearing in public without their wedding rings
He previously told The Sun: ‘Chloe is very happy, she and James are going to France together, they have a very happy uncoupling.
‘It’s a very civilised relationship – we see a lot of James, he’s at the house quite a lot, either with Chloe or without.’
‘I go for a drink with him from time to time. It’s all good. It’s a very civilised divorce. The co-parenting is going really well.’
In October 2023, the pair confirmed they had split in a joint statement after a decade together.
The couple who had starred in their own ITV reality show Chloe Madeley: A Family Affair, announced: ‘Chloe and I mutually decided separate at the end of September, 2023.
‘We had not planned on releasing a statement at this time – certainly not while the television show was airing – but constant speculation about our marriage has, unfortunately, forced our hand.
‘Beyond this statement, we will not be speaking about this matter publicly, and we would request privacy at this time.
‘Our sole focus now is our beautiful daughter. We shall continue to co-parent with nothing but love.’