IN her most unflinchingly honest interview to date, Chloe Madeley reveals all about her divorce from ex James Haskell.
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, Chloe talks about her lowest moments, co-parenting her daughter Bohdi, new men and new beginnings. Buckle up.
Chloe Madeley opens up on her toxic split from James HaskellCredit: Mark Hayman (portrait) and Getty Images (stock background)
Chloe and James started dating in 2014Credit: Dave Benett/Getty Images
NEW Year really does mean new beginnings for Chloe Madeley.
More than two years after to England rugby player , her decree absolute has come through and she is finally a single woman.
“It’s two years since we separated and it’s been f**king long enough,” says , 38, who has a three-year-old daughter, Bodhi, with James, 40.
“Our life has very slowly fallen into place as co-parents and as ex-husband and wife.”
While on the surface the pair appear to be handling the split well, often pictured on family days out with Bodhi, she says like most couples, they have found navigating divorce difficult.
“It’s fine now, but the process has been incredibly emotional and volatile,” she admits.
“We have weeks where everything’s fine and we get on really well.
“And then we have weeks where we don’t agree on something or someone gets frustrated or angry, and then we don’t speak.
“I just have a hard policy now on that.
“The reason I left the marriage is because I don’t want any big blowout rows.
“So I just drop off the radar for a bit, then we see each other at the gym or we are photographed together and it’s back on track.”
Chloe, daughter of TV presenters and , is always unflinchingly honest when it comes to talking about her feelings.
She describes receiving the letter telling her the couple’s divorce would be finalised on December 30 as akin to “a very undiluted slap in the face”.
Ironically, things started to get better for us when I left the marriage
Chloe
“When I saw the court letter, it was the first time since we broke up that I actually felt viscerally like: ‘I got married to this man who I thought I’d be with forever and still would be with, to be honest.’ And it’s like: ‘Oh, I failed.’
“It was really weird, because I wasn’t expecting to feel like that.
“So I actually don’t think it’s going to be the ‘fresh start’ of January 2026 that people keep saying to me.
“I actually think it’ll probably come with a time of grieving.
“I did say to him: ’Look, if we’re getting on, which is a big ‘if’, maybe we should spend the day together and take Bodhi away for the night.’”
The pair had been together for 11 years, and married for five, when they split in October 2023, so is there no part of Chloe that could forgive James and give their another go?
“I’m so far past that. I never want to be in a relationship with him again,” she says, adamantly.
“I don’t know if I want to be in a relationship again, period, but I certainly don’t want to be with him.
“The marriage became incredibly dark and sad and painful.
“And I do look at him often and think: ‘You’re an idiot. What did you do?’ But I’m sure he would say the same about me, because there are two sides to every story.
“I’m sure that he has his side.”
Despite their ongoing difficulties, Chloe admits their has improved since they split, and that James is a great dad to Bodhi.
“Ironically, things started to get better for us when I left the marriage,” she explains.
“We co-parent really well. I insist on that because I want Bodhi growing up with the same kind of childhood memories that I have.
“I want her to have that feeling of being at the centre of a safe family unit.
“So, James and I spend a lot of time together as a family.
“It is hard, but we make a real effort for her.
“Bodhi was only a year old when we separated, but for the entirety of her life James was always away.
“He would go to Ibiza for DJ gigs, so I don’t think anything has really changed for her.
“The other day, she came running out of the nursery, saying: ‘Mummy, I’ve got two houses.’
“She was so excited and it was such a relief for me.”
While James is openly dating again, Chloe is more reluctant to put herself back out there.
At the beginning of my separation, I went through a period of depression. I had to go on medication. It was really hard
Chloe
“Unfortunately for me, all the great guys are married and all the single guys. . . There’s a reason why they haven’t settled down.
“So my pool of opportunity is literally more like a puddle!
“I have heard that when you reach your 40s, more relationships break up and that’s when dating will come alive again.
“If the most amazing guy who was kind and emotionally intelligent and articulate came along then, of course, yeah.
“But I haven’t met one guy in two years – and I meet a lot of men – where I’ve thought: ‘Oh, you seem great, I’d seriously date you.’ How bad is that? But to be honest, I’m not in any rush. I’m fine.”
And does she get lonely or miss having someone to hug at the end of a hard day?
She raises an eyebrow.
Chloe on a family outing with her parents, brother Jack and daughter BodhiCredit: Dave Benett/Getty Images
“Stop it! I love men. I do. I have guys that are in my life. . . I’m happy. I’m fine as a 38-year-old woman who hasn’t been in a relationship for two years. I’m not sitting at home knitting!” she laughs.
“At the beginning of my separation, I went through a period of . I had to go on medication.
“It was really hard. And I basically had to rebuild from the ground up with as much help as I could get.
“Then James moved out and life started moving forward again.
“I just love being single. I love not being committed to anyone.
“I’ve got my daughter, I’ve got my social life, and then I’ve got guys, you know,” she laughs.
“But would I seriously date any of them? Absolutely not!”
‘I got really lean and people asked me: “Are you on Mounjaro?’”
She does admit to being hit with feelings of loneliness, though.
“It’s all great until Bodhi is in bed and I don’t have anyone to cuddle.
“I will be honest, that is the only time I feel it. I don’t feel it any other time.
“I think guys feel it, too – they all want to get more romantic and intimate as the weather gets colder.”
While it is obvious from even a quick check of her socials that she adores motherhood, she is adamant she doesn’t want any more children – and Bodhi feels the same.
“I was giving Bodhi a bath and I popped to the room next door, and she shouted: ‘Mummy, come back. I’ve got no one to play with.’ I rushed back saying: ‘I’m here, I’m here.’
“I had this horrible feeling that started to creep up inside me where I thought: ‘Oh god, I’ve let my child down.’ But then I said: ‘Bodhi, should Mummy get pregnant and you can have a little brother or sister?’ Her eyes shot open and she said: ‘You already did that. You already have me. You don’t need another baby.‘
People are fudging their BMI and Facetuning their photos, and that worries me
Chloe
“I instinctively knew that, actually, if I was planning on another child, she would hate it! And I don’t want any more kids. I’ve done it. I love Bodhi, I don’t need more. Also, kids are so expensive – they change your life, and life is so much better, and so much more vivid in colour than it ever was before. But it’s exhausting. It’s relentless. I love being a mum and Bodhi is the best thing that ever happened to me, but I’ve done it.”
Away from domestic drama, she’s planning to revolutionise her career this year.
Chloe – who co-runs group coaching platform The EC Method, as well as FitnessFondue, which is one-to-one personal training – says her businesses have been badly hit by people using
She has noticed a huge drop in the number of women in her online group-coaching classes since fat jabs hit the market.
As someone who works hard on her fitness levels and is passionate about health, she worries about the negative impact of the jabs.
“People are fudging their BMI and Facetuning their photos, and that worries me.
“But, mostly, it’s more important than ever that if you’re taking fat jabs, you start training and you understand your nutritional and supplemental needs.
“I do have clients who are on Ozempic and Mounjaro, and the first conversations we have are about supplements and meal plans.
“I want to keep them nutritionally sound, because [the jabs] can affect muscle mass, lean mass and bone-mineral density.
“I’ve seen friends who are on it and who became a size 8 quickly, but they are sleeping all day because they are not getting their energy from food any more.
“Their skin, hair and nails – everything looks unwell.”
Chloe also understands the frustration of anyone who’s lost weight through and being accused of using weight-loss jabs – because it’s happened to her.
“I’ve had it,” she says, rolling her eyes.
“I got really lean a few months ago for a shoot and I’ve managed to stay lean.
“The number of people who came up to me in my gym that I’ve been going to for 13 years asking: ‘Are you on Mounjaro?’ I’m like: ‘Who are you talking to?’
Star Chloe always unflinchingly honest when it comes to talking about her feelingsCredit: Mark Hayman (portrait) and Getty Images (stock background)
“It’s such an insult to me. My clients feel it, too. They’re working really hard and when people ask if they’re taking weight-loss medication, they feel like their hard work is being dismissed.
“They get offended by it and find it really disheartening.
“There are people who are choosing to take the jabs who don’t need them.
“I could make their bodies look incredible in eight to 12 weeks without ever injecting anything into them.”
As well as planning to get her coaching numbers back on track this year, Chloe also has her sixth fitness book out in June, The Female Physique Guide.
“It’s all about protein,” she explains.
“But on its own that would be quite boring, so it’s also about internal health and external appearance through various stages of a woman’s life.
“It covers young women, pre-and post-natal, then peri- and post-menopausal.
“It’s the four pillars of getting in shape and staying in shape – protein, weight-lifting, energy balance and fibre.
“It’s a simple box-tick coachable guide that will get people in the best f**king shape of their lives!”
‘Mum’s lost 3st in the last year. She’s much more confident’
Chloe has also been using her encyclopedic knowledge of health and fitness to help her mum Judy, 77.
The TV presenter suffered a serious health scare in 2018, when she was left needing two life-saving blood transfusions from a ruptured stomach ulcer.
Healing for me has come from being quiet, calm and spending lots of time at home
Chloe
“Mum is doing so great at the moment,” Chloe says. “I overhauled her whole diet and helped her with supplements.
“And she’s started doing more walking. Unfortunately, her joints are a bit of a mess and she’s got arthritis in her spine.
“She’s not the kind of person you can give an exercise plan to, nor would she ever set foot in a gym.
“Mum isn’t an active person. She’s quite happy being sedentary.
“But I said: ‘You need to get up and be active and walk for 20 minutes every day.’
“Doing that means her metabolic health has sky-rocketed.
“I’m really happy with her for that. I don’t know how much longer she’s going to be able to do it, but for the minute, she’s actually managed to be really active and has lost 3st in the last year.
“She’s really happy because she feels more confident, and can shop for clothes online.”
While Judy is taking more of a back seat professionally, her dad Richard, 69, continues to love being on-screen.
“Dad is still doing ,” says Chloe.
“Honestly, he loves it. I think he’s got a new TV show coming up in 2026 as well, which is a documentary series.
“I think it will be really fun for him, something a bit different he hasn’t done before.
“They’re both living their best lives. They are getting older, but they are great. I am a very lucky girl.”
And does Chloe have any other hopes for 2026?
“What happened two years ago was extremely painful and exhausting. It knocked the wind out of my sails,” she says.
“Healing for me has come from being quiet, calm and spending lots of time at home.
“Now there is a part of me that feels like I need to get my bravery and my spark back.
“I’ve shied away from things, but maybe now I need to take a few more career risks and start saying yes again.”
- Follow @Madeleychloe on Instagram. The Female Physique Guide is out later this year.
The telly host is planning to revolutionise her career this yearCredit: Mark Hayman (portrait) and Getty Images (stock background) WHAT WAS THE LAST...
Film you saw?
He’s Just Not That Into You. I was bummed out that I hadn’t heard from this guy, then I got a text from him while I was watching the film!
Podcast you listened to?
Deux U by Deuxmoi. I’m obsessed with it.
Thing you bought?
A trip to Soho Farmhouse for Bodhi and me.
Time you cried?
I’m such an avoidant, I can’t remember it.
Time you laughed?
Last night when Bodhi told James he’s “not as fun as Mummy”!
Person you texted?
A boy I’m meant to be seeing tonight.
Book you read?
Over Sharing by Jane Fallon.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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