Vanessa Feltz admitted she was feeling "battered and bruised" ahead of her 61st birthday, following her heartbreaking split from her fiance of 16 years Ben Ofoedu. The TalkTV host and This Morning agony aunt reflected over the past 12 months, and becoming unexpectedly single after Phats & Small singer Ben cheated on her.
She wrote in her column for The Express: "What a difference 12 months makes. I started a new all-singing, all-dancing job at TalkTV after 33 years at the Beeb, embarked on Instagram and now have 330k followers, became a grandma for the fourth time when Cecily Violet was born and five weeks ago became unexpectedly single."
Vanessa, who spent Valentine's Day on a healing trip to Ireland with her family, says she's "marching on" after the heartache and looking forward to the future. "I was born and bred to be married. I grew up listening to Fiddler On The Roof with 'Matchmaker, Matchmaker' on a loop, so it’s something of an adjustment."
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She added: "But I’m marching on, best foot forward in the time-honoured position, my heart a bit battered and bruised but grateful to be alive and curious about who and what the future will bring."
As Vanessa was showered with love from her nearest and dearest on her birthday today (Tuesday, February 21), she told her Instagram followers that she was 'healing. "I am the birthday girl! #grateful #family #healing #birthday," she captioned a video of herself surrounded by balloons.
Meanwhile over on Ben's Instagram Story he posted a picture of a massive pink and yellow birthday cake, with no words or explanation.
Speaking out on Sunday, February 5 Vanessa told her followers that she was "shocked" and "incredibly sad" as she addressed the split. In a frank video message she said the trust had been broken in their relationship.
The following day Ben, who shot to fame as one half of the dance duo Phats &Small in 1998 with the massive hit Turn Around, shared a picture of a broken heart emoji on his Instagram Stories. Returning to Instagram after a three week break, Vanessa shared her video with the words: "I’ve missed you. #brokenheart #onwardsandupwards #love #life #friends #family #thankyou."
Speaking into the camera she said: "Well, I haven’t been on Instagram for three weeks and that’s because my relationship with Ben is over after 16 years and I honestly didn’t know what to say to you on Instagram."
She continued: "But now it’s clear that it’s over, and I really do feel that once the trust in a relationship is gone you really can’t get it back, and that’s what I’d tell anyone else to do."
She continued: "But now it’s clear that it’s over, and I really do feel that once the trust in a relationship is gone you really can’t get it back, and that’s what I’d tell anyone else to do."
She added: "So I just wanted to say, obviously I feel incredibly sad, and I’m pretty disappointed and shocked and all those horrible things. But also full of resolve, because I’m not going to let this defeat me.
"I’m so glad to be living longer then my mum did. She died at 57 and I’m going to be 61 next month. So I feel very grateful to be alive and I want to carry on feeling that way and I want to celebrate and I want to find fun and laughter anywhere I can and I know it’s not going to be easy but I’m absolutely determined to do it."
Her ex Ben, 50, admitted he cheated on his partner in an exclusive interview with The Mirror. He said he had betrayed Vanessa's trust for a second time after she forgave him for cheating at the start of their relationship.
He shared how his fiancee forgave him after he had sex three times with an older woman but he insisted that the affair in Ibiza was "just sex – and a chore". But he then admitted that his relationship was finally over when he later 'sexted' one woman and 'flirted' with another.
He later said the abuse from the public over his split with Vanessa has made it the "worst three weeks of his life." "Next to the passing of my brother, I’ve had the most horrific three weeks of my life," he told the Mirror. "It’s been incredibly difficult. I’m not used to being attacked. The amount of abuse I’ve had, it’s unbelievable. People just tell me what they think. I’m silly to read it but I do."
He added: "I’m going through an incredibly painful break up. There’s so much pain to Vanessa, her family, me and my family. That’s my concern."
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