Helen Skelton and Richie Myler are back in the spotlight after the presenter opened up about the painful fallout from their split. She also used the interview to shut down long-running romance rumours about Morning Live co-host Gethin Jones.
The TV star, 42, said the public breakdown of her marriage hit hard. She explained that life in a close-knit community made the attention even tougher.
Speaking to The Times, Helen said: “It felt humiliating to me because of where I’m from. I didn’t enjoy walking down the street and people knowing stuff about my past.”
She said gossip travelled fast in her “tiny community”. Her dairy farmer father Richard heard people talking at his local golf club.
Helen added that “Susan from the meat counter at Sainsbury’s” would ask about her love life during the weekly shop. That made an already painful time feel even more exposed.
Helen Skelton’s split from Richie Myler
TV host Helen said she told herself to get up and get on with it.
That mindset pushed her towards Strictly Come Dancing. She joined the show just seven months after Richie left her.
The move proved huge for her. Helen finished in second place and many viewers saw it as a comeback moment.
One of her biggest performances came during her Couple’s Choice routine to Mein Herr from Cabaret. Fans quickly dubbed it her “revenge dance”.
Looking back, Helen said: “It struck a chord, one of the dancers said, ‘You did that for all of us, didn’t you?’ I wanted to have my own narrative. I was sick of the patronising looks, the ‘Ooh, how are you?'”
She added: “I didn’t have the capacity to say, ‘I’m brilliant, how are you?’ That’s what the dance did.”
Helen also revealed that mouthing the line “you’re better off without me” felt like a metaphorical “f*** you” to anyone who doubted her.
The Gethin Jones rumours would not go away
Since Strictly, Helen has kept busy with work and family. She left her Sunday show on BBC Radio 5 Live in 2023 to spend more time with her three children, saying the “juggle is real”.
She then became a regular co-presenter on Morning Live in 2023. She now fronts the BBC daytime show alongside Gethin Jones and Michelle Ackerley.
That easy chemistry sparked plenty of speculation. Helen, however, made her position crystal clear.
She said: “It’s wild. I’ve had my best friend congratulate me on our engagement. We’re not [together].
“We work together; he’s one of my best friends.”
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