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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Courtney Pochin

Les Dennis and Amanda Holden's ill-fated marriage - from age gap to heartbreaking affair

Britain's Got Talent star and radio host Amanda Holden recently had her fans swooning as she shared a series of sexy snaps on her Instagram, one showing her wearing a stunning red dress while sitting at a bar in Paris.

And while many were quick to praise the 52-year-old's pictures, her ex Les Dennis appeared to make a dig about them, sharing his own photo on social media hours later, looking in the mirror in a dressing room.

The 69-year-old captioned his post, writing: "Not in Paris. In Leicester."

The television presenter was Amanda's first husband and they were married for eight years before an affair ended their relationship.

Amanda recently shared some sexy snaps from a Paris trip (Instagram/ @noholdenback)
She shared stunning pictures from her French trip (Instagram/ @noholdenback)

Despite their 17-year age gap, the pair hit it off while appearing in The Sound of Music on stage in Bournemouth in 1993.

They tied the knot in 1995, Amanda was just 23 at the time, while Les was 40. They were married for eight years and she was Les' second wife, following his relationship with Lynne Webster, with whom he shares a son.

When asked if she was looking for a father figure in Les, Amanda admitted to The Times that she wasn't sure but that there was a "kind of safety" in having a relationship with an older man.

Ex-husband Les got the internet talking with his tongue in cheek snap (Twitter)

However, the pair's marriage infamously hit a snag in 2000 when Amanda had an affair with her Happy Birthday Shakespeare co-star Neil Morrissey.

Amanda and Les broke up after the affair and while they did reconcile briefly later on, they divorced for good in 2002.

Amanda has since described the period following her infidelity and the media fallout as a 'very dark time'.

Speaking about it to the Mail, she said: "I brought it on myself, I appreciate that, but nothing will ever be as bad again.

Amanda and Les were married until 2002 (Alan Davidson/REX/Shutterstock)
She claimed there was a 'safety' in their relationship (Getty Images)

"It was a very dark time. It got to the point where I felt I could hardly breathe."

She went on to confess that ironically Les became her "saviour", offering her support even though she had hurt him the most.

In a 2013 interview with Good Housekeeping, the TV star went on to say she didn't believe that women had affairs for no reason and defended Neil, who she claims got a lot of 'stick' at the time.

"Women don't seek sex - we seek love and affirmation. If a woman has an affair, there is normally a problem in their marriage. Neil rightly or wrongly got loads of stick.

"I feel like it was my fault - I was the one who was married.

"I want to change the general perception of him, as he was very caring and very loving and very worried about me because I lost so much weight. He used to cook for me and look after me and babysit the dogs."

The relationship ended after Amanda had an affair with Neil Morrissey (Getty Images)
Neil has since apologised for the fling (Getty Images)

Neil later shared his own apology for the affair in 2014, while appearing on Piers Morgan's Life Stories.

The 60-year-old said: "I feel sorry for how the situation was dealt with and I feel sorry for how emotional Les seemed to become. It was very difficult for him and for that, I'm very sorry."

Neil's comment was shared in response to being asked by Piers if he had ever apologised to Les.

He confessed that he had not, and he wasn't entirely sure what there was to apologise about as he didn't know "the whole situation".

When asked why he had never spoken about it before, he added: "I think enough was said about it. This was a very short fling. I didn't have representation at the time, in terms of PR and this was the first time I'd really come under the cosh."

Amanda has since found happiness with Chris Hughes and the pair share two daughters (Getty Images)
Les is now married to Claire Nicholson (PA)

Amanda and Les have both gone on to find happiness with other people.

Amanda met record producer Chris Hughes in 2003 and the pair dated for seven years before tying the knot in 2010.

The couple share two daughters together, Lexie and Hollie.

Meanwhile, Les married Claire Nicholson in 2009 and the pair have been happy together ever since.

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