Richard Madeley Opens Up About Daughter Chloe’s Divorce and ‘Happy Uncoupling’ with James Haskell

Richard Madeley has shared insights into his daughter Chloe Madeley’s recent divorce from former rugby player James Haskell, revealing that despite their separation, the pair are maintaining a friendly relationship. Chloe, 37, and James, 39, announced their split in October 2023 after five years of marriage, but according to Richard, they are handling the breakup with grace and civility.

Speaking to The Sun, the Good Morning Britain host explained that Chloe and James continue to enjoy each other’s company and are even planning a holiday together. “Chloe is very happy, she and James are going to France together, they have a very happy uncoupling,” Richard said. “It’s a very civilized relationship – we see a lot of James, he’s at the house quite a lot, either with Chloe or without.” Richard also mentioned that he still enjoys spending time with his former son-in-law, saying, “I still go for a drink with James from time to time.”

The couple, who share a daughter, Bodhi, born in August 2022, have focused on co-parenting since their split. “The co-parenting is going really well,” Richard added, emphasizing that their separation has been amicable and focused on their daughter’s well-being.

Chloe and James announced their separation in a joint statement in September 2023, shortly after filming their reality show, Chloe Madeley: A Family Affair. In the statement, they explained that they hadn’t initially planned to make their breakup public but were forced to do so due to increasing speculation. “We had not planned on releasing a statement at this time – certainly not while the television show was airing – but constant speculation about our marriage has, unfortunately, forced our hand,” they said. They added that their primary focus moving forward would be co-parenting their daughter, Bodhi, “with nothing but love.”

Chloe later opened up about the split during a January appearance on Loose Women. She reflected on the challenges they faced during their marriage, particularly James’ frequent travel for DJ gigs, which took him away from home five nights a week. “But actually how ironic that now it just completely works in my favor because I’ve got my space, he’s got his space,” Chloe explained. She described how the arrangement allows James to spend quality time with Bodhi while giving her time to rest.

Reflecting on the dissolution of their marriage, Chloe explained, “You have pillars and posts that keep the relationship up, whether that’s respect or affection or trust, and all of our pillars – over time, it didn’t just happen – they kind of disintegrated.” She added that while they still love each other as friends, the romantic aspect of their relationship had faded. “We lost the ability for it to be more,” she said.

In an interview with OK!, Chloe admitted that she wouldn’t delve into the specific reasons for their breakup. “I’m never going to go into great detail about why we broke up because it’s not fair on anyone,” she said, acknowledging that the process was difficult but necessary for them both to move forward in a healthy way. “It was hard at the beginning. You have to work at it like everything in life, and we’ve really done that,” she concluded.