Jermaine Jenas’ wife Ellie Penfold has spoken out after her husband was sacked by the BBC following complaints about workplace conduct.
An official statement from the BBC confirmed that Jenas had been taken off presenting duties for both The One Show and Match of the Day due to alleged inappropriate behaviour.
Jenas later admitted to sending ‘inappropriate messages’ to two of his BBC colleagues, though clarified that they were not sexual and that he did ‘nothing illegal’.
And now, Jenas’ wife has finally broken her silence on the scandal and revealed how it has impacted her and her husband.
On Tuesday, Penfold appeared at the launch of her personal care brand Preppy, a specialist range for children and teens, and spoke about the scandal involving her husband.
According to The Sun, Penfold said: “It has been an incredibly hard and difficult time for myself and my family.
“My only focus has been on our children and building my brand Preppy.
“Now I just want to move forward.
“Naturally this has been hard for me but my only concern has been our children and that will not change.”
Despite appearing at the launch without her wedding ring, Penfold added that Jenas was completely supportive of her new businesses and was looking forward to seeing where it could go in the future.
“I have been working on this brand for three years and it is something I am incredibly proud of,” she added.
“Jermaine is excited for the business and what it holds for me in the future.
“He has been supportive of me in this respect and as a working mum.”
Jermaine Jenas and Ellie Penfold got married on 11 June 2011. (Image: Getty)
When details of the scandal became public in August, Jenas spoke with The Sun about how it had impacted him and his relationship with his wife Ellie.
He said: “I was in shock at the time, there was a lot to process. But I’m the married one, I’m at fault.
“The overriding panic by a mile was that I could lose my family.
“There’s something in me that’s praying there is some level of mercy or understanding of the fact we’re human beings and we all make mistakes, some bigger than others and mine is a big mistake.”
“Ellie is absolutely raging. She’s human.
“When I see her now, she is just making sure the children are okay.”