Jermaine Jenas has opened up about the explicit text messages that led to his sacking from the BBC, admitting his marriage was already in crisis before the scandal erupted.
The former England footballer, 42, lost his high-profile presenting roles on The One Show and Match of the Day after the messages came to light.
He has now spoken candidly about the fallout, which also led to the end of his 14-year marriage to Ellie Penfold.
Speaking on his Let Me Tell You Something podcast with Katherine Ryan and Derek Chisora, Jenas said: “I broke a vow. I feel my level of punishment was up there.
“I had to take it and have some broad shoulders and handle it, and I feel like I did that.”
He described his exchanges as similar to the erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey, saying: “It was Christian Grey in text messages, put it that way. It was sexting, as simple as that, but it was initiated to me and then I responded.
“It wasn’t just me going out of my way and it definitely 100% wasn’t ‘if you do this I will help you in your work’. There was no power element to it going on.”
Jenas admitted his personal life was in turmoil at the time. He told listeners: “There’s a lot of stuff with me and Ellie where we weren’t in the best place ourselves.
“And things were just spiralling a little bit. In no way is that blame. I’m fully accepting responsibility.”
He added: “I dealt with it wrong and got heavily punished for it by losing pretty much everything that I had at that time.”
The fallout included what he called an excruciating online meeting with BBC HR bosses, during which he was confronted with the explicit messages.
He later told The Sun: “I am ashamed, and I am deeply sorry.”
Jenas also admitted he lied to Ellie about his whereabouts during a family holiday, sneaking away to join a Zoom call with senior BBC executives as they investigated the complaints.
The couple tried to work through their issues with therapy, but eventually separated earlier this year.
Announcing the split in March, Ellie wrote: “I never imagined I would have to share something so personal with the public, but given the situation, I feel it’s necessary.
“After 16 years together and 4 wonderful children, Jermaine and I have decided to part ways. We will remain friends and continue to co-parent.
“We kindly ask that you respect our children’s privacy during this challenging time. Thank you, Ellie.”
Despite the turmoil, Jenas said he felt the BBC had him “locked in a creative prison” and that losing his presenting jobs forced him to re-evaluate his life.
