Anthea Turner has revealed how she struggled to cope following her split from cheating husband Grant Bovey.
The TV star admitted she felt like she had “failed” and went on to drink too much, as she tried to deal with Grant’s affair with a much younger woman.
The 56-year-old said she was “overwhelmed by her emotions” and had to see a therapist, following the split back in 2013. The couple had been together for 15 years and lived with Grant’s three daughters when he cheated with a woman less than half his age.
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“I felt as if someone had died,” she said.
“In the following months I must have read every self-help book going, drunk far too much alcohol and spent days under the duvet, trying to shut out the world.
“Even though it was Grant’s decision to cheat and to ruin our marriage, I felt as if I’d failed somehow.
“I was overwhelmed by my emotions and saw a therapist.”
In her new book, How To Survive Divorce, the former Blue Peter and GMTV presenter recounts how she turned detective to find proof that Grant was cheating on her again.
Anthea had previously forgiven an affair less than a year earlier, when she became suspicious that he was being unfaithful again.
Eventually she discovered Grant was having an affair with interior designer Zoe De Mallet Morgan.
“I hated being the woman who checks up on her husband but, unfortunately, his behaviour turned me into her,” she said.
“One day he announced he was meeting a business contact. I went on his computer but couldn’t find any emails confirming the meeting.
“So I checked his satnav but couldn’t find the location in ‘previous destinations’.
“He has a Garmin device on his bike which logs mileage, yet when I looked, he hadn’t been anywhere he claimed to have. Also, the anti-theft tracker device on each vehicle told me he was lying about where he was going.”
What made things worse for Anthea was that Grant had already had an affair just two years after they wed in 2000.
“This time was even more shocking than the first because he knew how hard I’d had to dig to forgive him,” she said.
“But this time there were no cries for forgiveness or explanations. He simply said he wanted a different life and didn’t want to be married. It was time to call it a day.
“We’d been together nearly 15 years. I thought we were solid and I was shattered to discover he clearly hadn’t felt the same way,” she added.
“It was an awful, painful time. I would walk over glass to avoid it happening again.”
Anthea is also honest about how she nearly forgave Grant a second time.
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“I won’t pretend I wasn’t tempted to try and rekindle things and to forgive him yet again,” she said.
“But after therapy I was strong enough to see I needed to move on. Having the girls in my life made me realise it wouldn’t do me any good to cut their father out of the picture.
“So putting aside all my dark thoughts and anger, I made a decision to let go. Forgiveness isn’t easy but it’s a great strength and I’m a stronger woman for it.”
Anthea’s book How To Survive Divorce is released on May 18th.