Rhian Sugden has revealed she will be addressing her sexting scandal with TV presenter Vernon Kay in her upcoming memoir.
The 39-year-old former Page 3 model made headlines in 2010 after it was revealed she had exchanged a series of flirtatious text messages with the married broadcaster.
At the time, Vernon had been with his then-wife, Tess Daly, for 17 years. The revelations proved deeply upsetting for Tess, with reports also claiming Vernon had been sending flirty messages to “four or five girls” during the same period.
Vernon, now a father of two, has consistently maintained the exchanges were harmless banter and insisted nothing inappropriate ever happened.
Rhian Sugden to address Vernon Kay sexting scandal in upcoming book
Although Rhian has rarely spoken publicly about the episode, she’s now ready to address it in her forthcoming autobiography.
The Bury-born model and television personality’s memoir will chart her rise to fame. It will also include her years as Britain’s longest-serving Page 3 model, and her life today as a wife and mother.
Rhian is married to former Coronation Street actor Oliver Mellor, and the couple share a son, George.
Rhian first crossed paths with Vernon in a nightclub in 2010, where they exchanged phone numbers before messaging each other over the following four months.
After the story became public, Vernon admitted he had made a mistake, describing himself as an “idiot” who had let his family down. He also issued a public apology to Tess during his BBC Radio 1 show.
Now, 16 years later, Rhian is reflecting on the impact the scandal had on her life. She insisted she has faced years of scrutiny over something that never developed into an affair.
Speaking to the Mirror, she said: “Of course there’ll be mention of him [Vernon, in the book] but I think people are expecting some wild revelation about a sordid affair that didn’t happen.
“People get less of a sentence for murder. I’d understand if there’d been a full-blown affair, but there wasn’t. Yet somehow, nearly 20 years later, it’s still something that follows me around. I’ve spent years building a career and businesses that I’m incredibly proud of, and I’d much rather people talked about those than one chapter of my life that refuses to go away.”
‘It’s about finally telling the story that’s never been told’
According to sources close to Rhian, readers shouldn’t expect the memoir to be a personal attack on Vernon or anyone else from her past.
An insider said: “The book isn’t about reopening old wounds or settling scores. It’s about finally telling the story that’s never been told. People think they know Rhian because of a handful of tabloid headlines, but that’s just one tiny chapter of an extraordinary life. Rhian and Vernon both moved on with their lives, but somehow it’s always Rhian whose name gets dragged back into the headlines.”
ED! has contacted Vernon’s reps for comment.
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