The Troubling Journey of Amy Winehouse's Reclusive Ex, Blake Fielder-Civil, Following the Shocking Death of His Love Rival at 47

INSIDE the walls of Armely Prison, Blake Fielder-Civil sobbed uncontrollably as he was told that his on and off partner Amy Winehouse had been found dead in her Camden home.

Their troubled relationship had been plagued by addiction, and it was alcohol poisoning that would take Amy’s life at just 27, but tragedy would continue to follow Blake for years to come. Here, after the of his two children, we take a look at his desperate bid to start a new life and leave his cursed past behind.

Blake Fielder-Civil’s life has taken a series of tragic twistsCredit: Rex Blake’s ex Sarah, pictured here with their son Jack, has passed awayCredit: NB Press He is best known for being married to Amy Winehouse, who died in 2011Credit: PA:Press Association

After Blake and Amy locked eyes across a Camden pub in 2005, neither could have predicted the rollercoaster romance that would follow.

A heroin addict who had travelled to London from Lincolnshire to make a name for himself, Blake would find fame alongside Amy, who had a personal fortune of around £10million at the height of her career.

But there on and off relationship, which would become the inspiration for her award-winning album Back to Black, was rocked by infidelity and substance abuse until Amy’s death in 2011.

Since then, Blake has been a recluse, struggling to fight his addictions, despite having two children with Amy’s love rival, , who was sadly found dead at her home this week.

Sarah began dating Blake in 2011 when his marriage to Amy collapsed – but he was believed to be still seeing the star around the time of her tragic death.

Now, The Sun can reveal that Blake was last known to be living in a small bedsit in graffiti-covered converted flats in Leeds.

But, the 43-year-old hasn’t been seen there for at least three months, and is believed to be shacked up with a new girlfriend.

He is thought to have moved to the area after his release from prison for burglary and firearm possession in 2012, going from one run-down property to the next.

Neighbours claim the block where Blake was living most recently is frequented by drug users, and the smell of cannabis regularly hangs in the air.

Locals described the area as blighted by addicts, though they said Fielder-Civil himself keeps a low profile.

He was last seen in public in 2024 during an appearance on as he discussed the new film being made about Amy.

He proudly told the hosts how well he was doing, saying: “I’ve been clean for years myself”, but it’s unclear if that remains the case.

‘Absolutely tragic’

This week, Blake hit headlines once again when it emerged that his ex, Sarah, 47, was found dead at her home in , , with cops probing the death as “unexplained”.

Her body was discovered at a property in the Swillington area of the city on Saturday morning.

Tragically, Blake’s estranged mum believes his life is as chaotic as ever, and he may not even know that Sarah has died.

Georgette Civil, who fell out with Blake after writing a tell-all book about him, told the Daily Mail: “It’s absolutely tragic – truly tragic. [But] I would have thought Blake doesn’t know.”

It’s a devastating twist, which has now seen both the loves of his life pass away too soon.

Blake, a Lincolnshire private school pupil, was just a seemingly regular guy when he met singer in 2005, and within a week, she had his name, ‘Blake,’ tattooed across her chest.

Blake was , before travelling to the big smoke to forge a career as a video production assistant, and it’s thought that he was already using a variety of drugs, including heroin, well before meeting the star.

Their relationship was on-and-off due to their infidelities, drug use and various periods in .

It was during one split that she wrote her iconic and Grammy Award winning Back to Black album about her heartache. When she performed the song at Glastonbury in 2007, it was a moment that went down in history because of her raw emotion.

However, the couple decided to give love a second chance and got engaged with a diamond ring from Tiffany’s.

Blake has struggled since Amy’s death, but during his last interview, he said he was soberCredit: Barcroft Media Amy and Blake had a very tumultuous relationship over the yearsCredit: PA:Press Association

They eventually married at a secret ceremony in Miami in May 2007 before they divorced in 2009 after Amy reportedly cheated on Blake while he was locked up.

After several trips to rehab Amy was clean from hard drugs in the final years of her life, but she was still battling alcoholism – two years later, it would take her life.

Drug spiral

At the height of their doomed relationship they were regularly snapped looking unkempt, bruised and cut following domestic rows.

Her performances during the period were often alarming as she appeared to be struggling and under the influence.

Blake later admitted he had given Amy heroin for the first time, saying back in 2013: “I was smoking it and she said, ‘Can I try some?’ I don’t think she would have ever experienced it without me.”

In 2008, Amy was arrested after footage emerged of her inhaling fumes from a small pipe, as well as discussing taking other substances. She ultimately faced no charges.

It was a particularly rocky period for the newlyweds – Blake was in prison having been jailed for a bar fight.

As Amy stood on stage accepting a Record of the Year Grammy for Rehab in 2008, Blake was miles away. She paid tribute to her husband of less than a year, saying: “To my mum and dad, for my Blake, my Blake, incarcerated.”

The chaotic relationship and ultimate tragedy was featured in the starring Marisa Abela as Amy and Jack O’Connell as Fielder-Civil.

After their split in 2009, Blake went to rehab, where he met , from Leeds, who he had a son called Jack with.

But he continued an on-off relationship with Amy and they had reportedly planned to remarry.

Sarah even warned Amy to “keep her hands off” Blake – telling her: “He is mine and we are a family now.”

Just days later, as Fielder-Civil began a 32-month prison sentence for burglary and a firearm offence, from alcohol poisoning. He was unable to attend Amy’s funeral.

Sarah, who turned 33 on the day Amy died, visited him in a private room and told how he suffered continuous sobbing fits over her death and his inability to save her.

Blake was repeatedly blamed for Amy’s death – by her fans – and her own father, Mitch after getting her hooked on drugs.

Jack O’Connell as Fielder-Civil and Marisa Abela as Amy Winehouse in the 2024 movie Back to BlackCredit: Focus Features, LLC/StudioCanal/Dean Rogers. All Rights Reserved Blake’s mum Georgette Civil believes her son might not know Sarah has diedCredit: Paul Tonge – The Sun Sarah had two children with Blake before their split in 2018Credit: Enterprise Amy struggled with drug addiction throughout her lifeCredit: Getty

When his son was just 15 months old, Blake was after a substance abuse binge, it was a year after Amy’s death.

At the time Amy’s father Mitch took to X writing: “Remember Amy loved him. Let’s pray for his recovery.”

He was put into an induced coma and eventually pulled through.

Sarah also told The Sun at the time: “I’m praying he’ll survive, but I’m having to prepare myself that he may never wake up.”

‘I betrayed my own son’

Blake and Sarah went on to have a daughter, Lola, before they split in 2018. Both Jack and Lola were put up for adoption – Blake and Sarah were both struggling with addiction at the time.

Blake’s mum revealed she after realising he wasn’t clean and looking after two children.

She wrote: “I looked down at Jack in his pushchair and thought ‘I can’t condemn you to a life with junkies’.

“We went to see Lola. I held her in my arms for the first and last time. I kissed her goodbye and walked away from her, Blake and Jack, feeling as if my heart was breaking. I knew I would never see any of them again.

“I rang social services and betrayed my own son. I told them Blake was still a drug user and that I had provided clean urine samples.

“Blake phoned me two days later. He was crying, screaming and pleading with me to withdraw my statement — but I didn’t.

“I never heard from my son again and I know I never will.”

Georgette’s and, indeed, Blake’s heartache didn’t end there – in April 2021, her son and Blake’s younger brother Freddie, 27, died from a heroin overdose.

He had been in a mental health unit but absconded before checking into a £40-a-night B&B in Leeds, where

are now investigating Sarah’s death in , , and say it remains “unexplained”.

This week her daughter from another relationship, Melody-Rose Hampshire, shared the news of her death and wrote: “No words at all. Love you so mum.

“May you rest in eternal peace, my beautiful mum.

“Doesn’t seem real. Just want you here and speak to you about your crazy antics. Life going to be so boring without you in it.”

A neighbour said: “She’d had her ups and downs.

“She gave birth to another son and appeared to be turning a corner.

“But things unravelled again and there was a lot of police activity with windows being smashed.”

It was certainly a devastating ending for the woman so entwined in his and Amy’s lives. It’s up to Blake now how his own story ends.

Blake has previously admitted he was the first person to give Amy heroinCredit: Wenn