Lisa McPartlin (right) stood by Ant (left) for more than two decades until, at the start of this year, he announced they were to divorce
In public, she has maintained a dignified silence. But make-up artist Lisa McPartlin has confided to friends that she spent ‘two years of hell’ fighting to keep her estranged husband Ant on the rails as his drinking spiralled out of control.
The troubled TV star’s life hit a new low last week when he was arrested and charged with drink-driving after his Mini collided with two other cars.
He has previously sought help for alcohol abuse, an addiction to prescription drugs and depression – now the crash and the ensuing publicity have prompted his return to rehab.
Lisa, Ant’s partner for more than two decades, loyally stood by him until, at the start of this year, he announced they were to divorce. Now friends say that the 41-year-old – who works as the senior make-up artist on Strictly Come Dancing – once again fears for her husband’s health.
‘Lisa has told me she’s been through hell for the last two years,’ said one. ‘She wasn’t sure if her marriage would survive, but she stood by him to try to save him. It has been so hard for her. Ant has been in such a bad way that she often feared the situation was untenable.’
Friends said that she begged the star, 42, to seek professional help and that, in a desperate attempt to save her husband from his demons, she had pleaded with him not to leave their £10 million home in Chiswick, west London, when he wanted to go out drinking.
The friend told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It is a very difficult time for Lisa, but this has been going on for a while. She could see two years ago that Ant was down and things were beginning to get difficult for him.
‘She loved him deeply and wanted to get him better – but she was open with her friends that she didn’t see how the marriage could survive.’
The couple began dating in 1994, when Ant was just 18, after meeting on the music circuit. At the time Lisa was in a band called Deuce, while Ant and co-presenter Declan Donnelly were carving out careers as a pop duo known as PJ and Duncan – their characters from the Byker Grove children’s drama, in which they first appeared on television.
Lisa was at Ant’s side as he went on to become one half of the country’s best-loved entertainment acts. The couple married in the summer of 2006 at Cliveden House, near Maidenhead, Berkshire, with Dec acting as best man.
‘They had been together for more than 20 years and were one another’s lives,’ said a friend.
‘Lisa tried pretty much everything she could to help, but it just carried on and on. It was the hardest thing for her to give in and admit the marriage was over. She’s a wonderful woman who was determined to save her husband. She’s so brave.’ A make-up artist friend added: ‘Lisa is one of the strongest women you can imagine, but a couple of years ago cracks were showing and she wasn’t herself so much.
The troubled TV star’s life hit a new low last week when he was arrested and charged with drink-driving after his Mini collided with two other cars (pictured)
‘It was clear back then that there were problems that were getting her down, but she didn’t want to give up on Ant. She has been to hell and back over the past couple of years. We all just wanted to scoop her up and give her a big hug.’
Late last week, Lisa ‘liked’ a series of supportive Twitter messages from fans that addressed her pain and loneliness in the days after Ant was charged. One came from a fan who quoted an inspirational phrase which read: ‘I know the rain is cold my dear, but dance in it a little while you wait for the sun.’
She also liked another post saying: ‘You survived what you thought would kill you. Now straighten your crown and move on like the queen you are.’
Ant’s crash came nine months after he admitted himself to rehab, saying: ‘I’ve let people down. I am truly sorry.’
At the time, he thanked Lisa for helping him through what he described as a difficult time but in January he issued a statement after months of rumours to confirm that he and Lisa were separating.
Friends of the star – estimated to be worth more than £60 million – said it was his decision to end the 11-year marriage, and that he had given it a ‘good go’ but had to do the ‘right thing for his health’.
Since moving out of the marital home at the beginning of the year, he has lived with his mother Christine Woodhall at a rented detached house half a mile from his wife.
According to friends, Christine has been supporting her son since his stint in rehab last summer and has even been described as his ‘sober coach’. However, she was a passenger when Ant crashed last weekend while allegedly over the drink-drive limit. The black Mini he was driving collided with two cars as he and his mother headed home after walking their dogs in Richmond.
A four-year-old girl travelling in one of the other vehicles was taken to hospital as a precaution.
Ant’s absence from the screen could prove commercially disastrous for ITV as, with fellow presenter Declan Donnelly, he hosts Britain’s Got Talent, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and Saturday Night Takeaway – the three biggest hits on the channel. The incident has caused turmoil for ITV. Alongside Dec, Ant is such a big part of its prime-time schedule that the broadcasting giant’s share price plunged by more than £150 million within three days, although it did recover towards the end of the week.
Lisa (pictured this week) was at Ant’s side as he went on to become one half of the country’s best-loved entertainment acts
The station was forced to deny claims that Ant was rushed back too quickly to host last year’s I’m A Celebrity, with sources saying his return followed medical advice.
It is understood there has been last-minute editing of the scenes already shot for the forthcoming Britain’s Got Talent audition shows to remove anything that could be seen as sensitive.
Production staff at Simon Cowell’s company SyCo, which makes the hit show, are combing through hours of footage and are, according to a source close to the programme, ‘in the process of removing anything that Ant says that could be deemed controversial’. The source added: ‘Ant is fully expected to appear in the audition stages of the show, with him and Dec talking to contestants following their auditions. But Dec will present the live shows alone – five semis and then the final – while Ant remains in rehab to address his emotional and alcohol issues.’
It is thought Ant’s car had veered into the wrong lane after coming round a sharp bend on Lower Richmond Road in South-West London, before hitting a green Mini with a family inside and then a BMW X5.
Less than 24 hours earlier, he had been performing with Dec on ITV’s Saturday Night Takeaway, but will take no further part in the series.
Ant’s family have spoken of their concern.
His uncle Lawrence McPartlin said: ‘We’re all worried about him. He’s in the best place now. He’s just got to do what he’s got to do. The money’s gone to his head. That’s the way it goes.
‘His dad Ray is a plumber, a heating engineer. He works away all the time.
‘I’m not sure if he’s seen Ant since all this happened.’
Ray walked out on his family when Ant was just eight.