Ugo Monye has split from his wife Lucy.
Ugo Monye
The former England rugby union star has revealed that he and his wife of five years have separated but he has vowed not to let it interfere with his participation in 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
Ugo, 38, told The Sun newspaper: "It’s been hard. At times things have seemed a bit overwhelming but it’s been a tough period for us both. In some relationships there is a moment, a ‘thing’, that breaks the couple.
“It can be an exterior influence. It can be anything. But with us it was a number of things. We weren’t in a volatile relationship, we never hated each other and there was no third party. Forget the 'Strictly' curse — it’s the COVID curse! We ended up where we ended up.
“It’s been a difficult, multi-faceted situation but there is no animosity. We’ve got two incredible young girls who we love so much.
“So our focus is very much on the kids, protecting and fostering this amazing family unit.
“It will take more work, of course, but Lucy and I are in a good place. We’ve even been discussing the idea of going on holiday as a family next summer. Lucy is an amazing person and an incredible mum.”
Ugo and Lucy, 32, have daughters Phoenix, four, and Ruby, one, together and Ugo said they are determined to remain close for the sake of their kids.
He said: “Though we are separating, we are still very much connected by our kids and we need to do what’s right for them. They came into his world because of a decision we made, so it’s really important we do everything to give them the best life possible.
“We’d had one big conversation a while ago when we put everything on the table, then smaller conversations about certain other things.
“So when the final decision to split was made, it wasn’t totally isolated or out of the blue."