Denise Van Outen's split from 'cheating' ex Eddie Boxshall has rocked the showbiz world to its core.
The much-loved former The Big Breakfast host has been left devastated and humiliated after discovering her hubby-to-be's outrageous antics.
"It saddens me to confirm that we are no longer a couple. I had to make the difficult decision not to continue our relationship," Denise wrote in a short statement.
Their seven-year relationship has come to an end with Denise calling off their engagement after discovering Eddie's apparent betrayal.
Poor Denise realised the commodities trader had been engaging in raunchy communications with women he met online and even had secret dates with one woman.
Yet just a year ago, it was Eddie who was saying he had the 'hump' with Denise for flirting with people at work.
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During her time on Dancing on Ice last year, which ended early when Denise suffered a nasty injury, Eddie confessed he was starting to get annoyed with his then fiancée.
Part of his issue was that Denise loved flirting on the job but the saucy banter stopped when she got back home to him.
"It gives me the hump. Start chucking it a bit in my direction," Eddie said in February last year on their podcast Before We Say I Do.
On the same podcast before, Denise admitted she has always been flirty by nature with her male pals.
"I don't flirt with him. I flirt with everyone at work, I'm naturally flirty. It's flanter – flirty banter. I don't mean anything by it," she said.
Admitting the pandemic had strained their relationship like it had for millions of couples, she added: "We've been locked down together 24/7 and a few things have come up.
"If we try and sit down and talk about things, we'll end up bickering."
While getting tips from pyschosexual therapist Cate Mackenzie, Eddie stated that he wanted Denise to "find that little pocket of space" again so that they could reignite the flame.
"I'm very aware of me putting us in situations where I'm not giving enough," she confessed. "I'm not as affectionate as I should be and I feel like I’ve lost my way a little bit within the relationship.
"It's a good relationship but I think it could be better if we take the time to discuss what is bothering us about each other so we can move forward."
But things took an unexpected turn when the news of their shock split emerged this month - and rumours have swirled that Denise ended things after discovering a series of messages to other women on Eddie's phone.
A source told The Sun: "Denise is both furiously angry and utterly heartbroken. It’s the very last thing she expected to happen after she had been so happy with Eddie.
"She thought this was forever. But while she has been out at work he’s been sat in her home betraying her trust."
However, it was actually Eddie who had been checking Denise's texts to make sure she wasn't going too far with other men.
Speaking on Loose Women in 2018, Denise revealed that Eddie had access to her mobile during a segment on micro-cheating.
She gave him her passcode to make sure she wasn't doing anything inappropriate because she often exchanges "flirty banter" with her male friends.
"My other-half, Eddie, knows the passcode to my phone and he can look at it whenever he wants," she said.
"If I have flirty banter or something... because I've got a lot of male friends, and because I've got quite a male sense of humour, he knows it's banter."
However, the gesture was completely one-sided as Denise did not have access to Eddie's phone.
She added: "I'm like, 'you can look whenever you want to!' But I don't have his passcode. I do look over his shoulder!"
When asked what she would do if she caught Eddie messaging women on Twitter, she said: "He's very similar to me. I wouldn't be upset if I knew the other person and I knew they had that kind of friendship."
Now it seems Denise and Eddie are over for good and he will not be appearing alongside her on Celebrity Goglebox anymore.
Eddie had been Denise's first boyfriend since her split from actor Lee Mead, who is the father of her daughter Betsy, in 2013.
Friends had described Essex tradesman Eddie as 'charming, genuine and a really lovely guy' with Denise seemingly falling head over heels.
Giving an interview just days before her split was confirmed, Denise candidly admitted she was not looking to marry Eddie any time soon.
"We’ve not really been focusing on organising a wedding because we’ve been trying to get the house finished and get final things done, like a new patio," she commented.
"Besides, you can’t plan for anything at the moment so there’s no rush to do anything.
"Young people plan weddings because they want to crack on and start a family but that’s not going to happen. It’s not like we are having any more children," she told The Mirror.
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