Denise Van Outen splits with husband Lee Mead

 
Staff|Agency29 July 2013
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Denise Van Outen and Lee Mead have reportedly split up after four years of marriage because they have "grown apart".

The couple - who have three-year-old daughter Betsy together - are said to have called time on their four-year marriage because they have "fallen out of love" after spending lengthy periods apart, and though they are upset about the separation, they have vowed to remain friends.

A source said: "The spark just faded after a while. It's very sad but they're still best mates and hope it will stay that way.

"There hasn't been a big blow-out but they are now having a trial separation and coming to terms with going their separate ways.

"They hardly saw each other over the last nine months because of their work commitments. The distance had become too difficult to overcome. They had grown apart - and fallen out of love."

Lee, 32, is believed to have moved out of the north London home he shared with 39-year-old Denise - whom he met when she presented Any Dream Will Do, the talent show on which he found fame - and their daughter, but will still be a frequent visitor.

The source added to The Sun newspaper: "Lee will still come to the house to look after Betsy because he and Denise still genuinely like each other even though their romantic relationship has broken down."

The couple's relationship has been the source of speculation for months after they were barely seen together, with Lee even missing his wife's appearance in the Strictly Come Dancing final last year.

However, friends insist their problems have only surfaced in recent weeks.

The insider said: "When people first said there were strains in their marriage 18 months ago it just wasn't true.

"People assumed because they don't appear in public together very often that something was wrong but that wasn't the case. They were happy and confident leading separate lives."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in