Footballer Ian Wright has a hugely successful football and media career to be proud of – as his own game show Moneyball airs tonight (August 26) – but he’s the first to admit he has made some mistakes in his life.
The former Arsenal player has admitted that cheating on his first wife Debbie was one of the things he regrets most in life.
Writing his memoir he admits that he feels terrible about the way he treated his first wife and wishes he could change the past.
The pair originally met at the age of six in south east London, where they lived along the road from each other.
From dreams to regret
But when Ian went off to pursue his football dreams, they lost touch, until they met again by chance when Debbie had just turned 22 when Ian, who was five years older, had just started playing for Crystal Palace.
To start with, their relationship was utter bliss. Ian was ‘perfect’, Debbie told the Daily Mail in 2008, describing him as ‘kind, generous’ and the ‘most devoted husband you could ask for’.
Then, in 1993, Debbie and Ian tied the knot in Mauritius, bought a mansion in Surrey and welcomed son Stacey.
But after just three years, Debbie discovered that a newspaper was about to report that Ian had had been having an affair with a woman he’d met through his TV work.
Second chances
Ian came clean about the relationship and begged Debbie to believe that the steamy liaison had just been a fling that had meant nothing to him
But Debbie was to heartbroken to listen and kicked him out of the family home and refused to take his calls for weeks.
However, after much thought, she decided to give Ian a second chance for the sake of their son Stacey.
To begin with, things appeared to be back on an even keel and a jubilant Debbie and Ian gleefully added daughter Bobbi-Lee to the family.
But the happiness wasn’t to last when Debbie’s life was rocked again when she discovered that Ian had fathered a child with another woman.
This was the final straw for Debbie who divorced him in 2004.
Horrible period
Ian has since admitted that hurting his first wife the way he did is one of his biggest regrets and wishes he could step back in time and change what happened.
Ian admits that living the flamboyant footballer lifestyle was partly to blame for his actions.
“It was while I was playing for Arsenal and everything was going so well for me that I got a bit carried away with myself because of all the attention I was getting,” he wrote in his autobiography, A Life In Football.
“I got caught up in all of that and cheated on first wife, Debbie, which destroyed my marriage. That was a really horrible period.
“If there’s ever been a time in my life I wish I could change, that would be it.”
I’m A Celebrity regret
After that, Ian met second wife Nancy Hallam in a pub in Notting Hill and said he fell for because he liked the way she ‘mugged him off’ and no idea about football.
They married in 2011 and had daughters Lola and Roxanne, and he previously said their blissful family life has finally taught him the meaning of love and tranquility. “I didn’t experience an enormous amount of love from my mum when I was a child, so I’ve had to learn what it is, and learn how to be happy and at peace,” he said, apologising for how he treated women before.
“I’ve put other people through horrible experiences along the way. If people think that’s selfish, then I’m really sorry,” he continued. “Nancy’s the perfect woman and I can’t stand to be apart from her and our daughters. My love for them is unconditional and my upbringing means I have a lot of love to give now.”
I’m A Celeb regrets
But Ian has other regrets. He also says he wishes he had never entered I’m A Celebrity Jungle because he thought producers didn’t show him at his best.
“To be totally honest, if I could take that time back I would,” he told Red magazine
“They let me down by not showing the whole picture of who I am. We had so many brilliant in-depth conversations that were never shown.
“People sometimes see this persona of me where I don’t seem like I’m vulnerable but I’ve always been a person in touch with my emotions.”
He added that he was the kind of man who was on the verge of crying and that he had deep feelings that he ‘had to learn to deal with’.
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See Ian Wright on Moneyball on ITV, Saturday at 7.30pm