James Haskell has admitted he regrets aspects of his marriage to Chloe Madeley, including repeated trips to Ibiza shortly after the birth of their daughter.
The former rugby player, 41, said the travel became one of the pressures on the relationship as he looked back on life after leaving the sport and moving into DJ work. James and Chloe, 39, announced their split after five years of marriage in 2023, after marrying in 2018 and welcoming daughter Bodhi in 2022.
James Haskell on marriage regrets
Appearing on the Nolans Uncensored podcast, James said Chloe had married him while he was still in a demanding rugby career, with a schedule that meant long stretches away, no free weekends and little chance to plan ahead.
He suggested retirement did not automatically make him more present at home, because work remained a huge part of his life.
“Did she think I think when I retired that I was going to be around all the time? But I was always a workaholic,” James said.
He then pointed to his Ibiza commitments, saying: “I had 12 trips to Ibiza in one year just after Chloe had a baby. And should I have done all them? No. Should I have been around more? Yes.”
James added that people can look back at former relationships and realise there were moments they “maybe” should have handled differently, while stressing that the Ibiza travel was “only one element of it”.
MailOnline said James moved into DJing after calling time on his 17-year rugby career in 2019, with the work often taking him to Ibiza for gigs.
Chloe Madeley on why they split
Chloe has also given her own account of the end of the marriage, describing the breakup as traumatic while saying they had still managed to co-parent respectfully.
Speaking on the No Parental Guidance podcast, she said she and James had “the worst breakup imaginable” when the marriage fell apart, but had maintained co-parenting through “trauma and toxicity”.
The exes now share a friendship as co-parents. Chloe said they had come through the hardest period with a “new bond”, adding that outcome had surprised her.
Read more: James Haskell admits he didn’t realise ex Chloe Madeley’s famous parents were Richard and Judy
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