Jermaine Jenas’s wife announces couple have split up

The wife of former BBC presenter Jermaine Jenas has said she and her husband have split up.

The former footballer, 42, and his wife Ellie Penfold were together for 16 years.

In a statement on her Instagram story, Jenas’s wife said: “I never imagined I would have to share something so personal with the public, but given the situation, I feel it’s necessary.

“After 16 years together and 4 wonderful children, Jermaine and I have decided to part ways.

“We will remain friends and continue to co-parent.

“We kindly ask that you respect our children’s privacy during this challenging time.”

The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder and his wife, a model, were married for more than 13 years.

The announcement comes just months after the father-of-four was removed from the presenting team at Match Of The Day and The One Show following complaints about workplace conduct.

Before his sacking in August, Jenas had been a regular pundit on sports programmes and a presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live.

He had been considered a natural successor to replace Gary Lineker as host of Match Of The Day, who last year announced that he will step down as host of the football highlights programme at the end of this season in May.

After being sacked from the BBC, Jenas apologised saying he had done “nothing illegal” and that “inappropriate messages” sent were “between two consenting adults”.

Jenas returned to broadcasting on TalkSport radio last month after the outlet distanced itself from him in the wake of his departure from the BBC.

“The last six, seven months have been extremely tough for myself and my family,” Jenas said in an interview with TalkSport in February.

“But it’s also been a really good opportunity to kind of take stock, have a good look at why