{"id":427586,"date":"2026-02-15T20:57:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T20:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/427586\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T20:57:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T20:57:11","slug":"what-happened-when-lisa-armstrong-saw-ant-for-the-first-time-in-eight-years-as-their-beloved-dog-dies-friends-tell-katie-hind-why-shell-never-forgive-plain-cruel-last-blow-after-he-walked-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/427586\/","title":{"rendered":"What happened when Lisa Armstrong saw Ant for the first time in eight years: As their beloved dog dies, friends tell KATIE HIND why she’ll NEVER forgive ‘plain cruel’ last blow after he walked away – and ‘tragedy’ he left her with"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was the moment that Ant McPartlin<\/a> and his ex-wife Lisa Armstrong<\/a> had dreaded for some years.<\/p>\n

Being forced to stand together, face to face, eight years after their very public and acrimonious split would have been difficult enough. But last week, their coming together was in the most tragic circumstances imaginable – to put down their beloved chocolate Labrador, Hurley.<\/p>\n

The warring couple haven\u2019t seen one another in the flesh since around 2018 – and neither have they wanted to – but last Thursday afternoon, in a consulting room at a west London veterinary practice, they were forced to put their personal grievances aside, when they received the devastating news that Hurley was seriously ill and wouldn\u2019t recover.<\/p>\n

Ant, 50, dashed from the press launch of Britain\u2019s Got Talent in London\u2019s Soho where he\u2019d been appearing alongside Declan Donnelly<\/a>, Simon Cowell<\/a> and Amanda Holden<\/a>, to meet Lisa, 48.<\/p>\n

Both were inconsolable as a \u2018mini-truce\u2019 took place, though one I\u2019m assured won\u2019t last.<\/p>\n

\u2018There is too much hurt, too much has happened,\u2019 says a source familiar with the pair.<\/p>\n

But for one day, they put their hatred on hold to grieve for Hurley who was adopted by the couple in 2013 while they struggled to conceive a child. They grew to love him so much that he became their surrogate baby.<\/p>\n

And an increasingly common tale of our times, after their 13-year marriage collapsed in 2018, he became the subject of a bitter \u2018tug-of-love\u2019 custody battle.<\/p>\n

\"Ant <\/p>\n

Ant McPartlin and Lisa Armstrong married in 2006<\/p>\n

The pair had initially agreed to share custody of Hurley, but such was the bitterness between them, it was left to Ant\u2019s TV sidekick Declan Donnelly to act as the go-between, ferrying him between his two homes.<\/p>\n

During their divorce battle, Ant is said to have told lawyers: \u2018She can have anything she wants \u2013 except the dog.\u2019 And in an interview at the time he said: \u2018There\u2019s a loyalty and a love and a companionship with Hurley that you can\u2019t describe. We still share quite evenly. Hurley\u2019s welfare comes first and we both love him very much.\u2019<\/p>\n

Still, Lisa felt extremely hurt and aggrieved by the arrangement. Hurley had become the one constant in her life who would make her smile as she navigated the pain of her divorce from Ant.<\/p>\n

Another devastating blow came when Ant moved on with their former PA, Anne-Marie Corbett, whom he married in 2021.<\/p>\n

He stepped into a ready-made family, with two step-daughters, whom he adores, and went on to get two more dogs (a pair of maltipoos – Maltese and Cockapoo crosses – called Bumble and Milo) and then, most painfully of all for Lisa, welcomed a son of his own in May 2024.<\/p>\n

Lisa, meanwhile was left distraught, as she faced life alone, almost in middle age.<\/p>\n

Friends of the Strictly Come Dancing makeup artist told me how much she wanted Hurley to herself some years ago – and had appealed to her ex-husband.<\/p>\n

She thought it was \u2018an entirely reasonable ask\u2019 as he had left her, childless, in her early 40s to make a family of his own with someone else.<\/p>\n

\"Ant <\/p>\n

Ant with dog Hurley in 2018. Lisa felt incredibly hurt by the arrangement to share time with Hurley following their split<\/p>\n

It would, observed associates of the couple, been tough for Lisa knowing that Anne-Marie would be caring for her \u2018baby\u2019 when he went for his stays at Ant\u2019s house.<\/p>\n

One associate said: \u2018Lisa had to watch Ant move on with a woman Lisa regarded as her friend and that was devastating.<\/p>\n

\u2018But then he got two more dogs and at that point Lisa thought it would be fair to request Hurley live with her full time. Ant wouldn\u2019t allow it.<\/p>\n

\u2018She was both cross and very, very upset. It was cruel, plain cruel. After everything she did for him and him walking away, she just hoped he might do the decent thing but he didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u2018There have been times since Lisa\u2019s split from Ant when she\u2019s felt like Hurley was all she had, while he strolled off into the sunset with another woman and set up home.<\/p>\n

\u2018But still, he refused, it was a big no no.\u2019<\/p>\n

Even when Ant became a dad, 18 months ago, when his son Wilder Patrick was born, he refused to let Hurley go.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s heartbreaking for her,\u2019 says a friend. \u2018She won\u2019t ever forgive Ant for not doing that for her.<\/p>\n

\"Ant <\/p>\n

Ant and Lisa at the Bafta TV awards afterparty at the Natural History Museum in 2007<\/p>\n

‘I know how much Lisa despises Ant, and now Hurley has gone she will almost certainly be even more furious at him for all of the time she missed out on with him while Ant was building a new relationship with Anne-Marie.<\/p>\n

\u2018Lisa was so angry about it, she struggled to see why Ant couldn\u2019t sacrifice Hurley,\u2019 said the friend.<\/p>\n

\u2018She knew how much Ant loved him, or course, but would it have really been a huge wrench given he had so much new in his life?\u2019<\/p>\n

Hurley – who was photographed over the years being walked by both Ant and Lisa – came to symbolise one of the saddest and most bitter celebrity break-ups in recent times.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d met back in 1994, when she was just 18 and he was 20, on the music scene.<\/p>\n

At the time Lisa was in a band called Deuce, while Ant and co-presenter Declan Donnelly were carving out careers as a pop duo known as PJ and Duncan – their characters from the Byker Grove children\u2019s TV drama, in which they first appeared together.<\/p>\n

Despite her impressive career as a makeup artist, Lisa was constantly at Ant\u2019s side supporting him as he went on to become one half of the country\u2019s best-loved entertainment acts, hosting Pop Idol in 2001, I\u2019m a Celebrity in 2002 and Britain\u2019s Got Talent in 2007.<\/p>\n

The couple married in the summer of 2006 at Cliveden House, near Maidenhead, Berkshire, with Dec acting as best man.<\/p>\n

\"Lisa <\/p>\n

Lisa with Hurley in 2021. Ant and Lisa adopted Hurley in 2013 while they struggled to conceive a child<\/p>\n

At one point they had a house on the same road as Dec in Chiswick.<\/p>\n

To the outside world, their lives appeared to be perfect. Lisa seemed to enjoy all of the perks being the partner of one half of Britain\u2019s highest-paid television duo.<\/p>\n

Yet behind closed doors, there was sadness, as they struggled to conceive – something Ant was always very open about.<\/p>\n

He once told an interviewer: \u2018Lisa and I would love to have kids. We\u2019re trying… it\u2019s tougher than you think.\u2019<\/p>\n

In 2013 they adopted an adorable, chocolate brown Labrador puppy and he took the place of a child in their lives, appearing regularly on Lisa\u2019s Instagram page.<\/p>\n

For Ant\u2019s 40th birthday in 2015, Lisa posted a picture of Hurley in a birthday hat, with the caption: \u2018Happy 40th birthday, Dadda.\u2019<\/p>\n

By the end of 2017, however, it was starting to become clear that Ant had other, very serious, problems of his own.<\/p>\n

Both he and Lisa had always enjoyed boozy nights out together at their local pubs in Chiswick, west London, but Ant soon found himself struggling with his demons and became addicted to alcohol.<\/p>\n

\"Ant <\/p>\n

Ant married\u00a0Anne-Marie Corbett in 2021, who had previously been his PA<\/p>\n

Lisa\u2019s friends tell me she was selfless looking after Ant during this period. She confided to them that she spent \u2018two years of hell\u2019 fighting to keep her ex-husband on the rails as his drinking and an addiction to prescription drugs spiralled out of control.<\/p>\n

In January 2018, Ant put out a solo statement announcing he was leaving Lisa.<\/p>\n

While his alcoholism was at first kept from the public, in March 2018 Ant was arrested and charged with drink-driving after his Mini collided with two other cars in south-west London.<\/p>\n

The presenter was pictured staggering out of the car after the collision, looking dishevelled. Two people, including a three-year-old child, received minor injuries in the accident.<\/p>\n

When breathalysed, he was found to be at twice the legal alcohol limit for drivers and was handed a record-breaking fine of \u00a386,000 at Wimbledon Magistrates Court.<\/p>\n

Though he had previously sought help for the alcohol abuse, drug addiction and depression, it was the crash and the ensuing publicity that prompted him to go to rehab.<\/p>\n

Later that summer, rumours started circulating that Ant was in a relationship with Anne-Marie Corbett, now 48, who had been employed by the married couple as their personal assistant.<\/p>\n

They made their first public outing as a couple at Wimbledon the following year.<\/p>\n

Obviously, Lisa took the news very hard. She\u2019d considered her a friend and she\u2019d always lavished her daughters, Poppy and Daisy, now teenagers, with birthday and Christmas gifts.<\/p>\n

She hit out on Twitter (now X) accusing Anne-Marie of breaking the \u2018girl code\u2019.<\/p>\n

Three years after the divorce, Anne-Marie and Ant married in a star-studded ceremony in Heckfield, Hampshire on August 7, 2021. Dec was the best man (again) and Anne-Marie\u2019s daughters were bridesmaids. Guests included Phillip Schofield, Holly Willoughby and Eamonn Holmes.<\/p>\n

In their acrimonious divorce, it was reported that Lisa was given millions, although sources say that figure was \u2018much inflated\u2019.<\/p>\n

She did, however, keep the former marital home – and a 50\/50 time share in Hurley.<\/p>\n

Whatever she got of Ant\u2019s fortune, it could never compensate what she lost when her marriage ended. \u2018It felt like many of Lisa\u2019s best years were wasted, Ant took them and then threw them all back in her face,\u2019 said one pal.<\/p>\n

Ant, on the other hand, appeared \u2018deliriously happy\u2019 with his new life. He\u2019d often be pictured out walking with his new family – with Hurley trotting along by their side.<\/p>\n

The news that Anne-Marie was expecting the couple\u2019s baby was another painful blow.<\/p>\n

Lisa, who has turned down many lucrative offers to do \u2018tell all\u2019 interviews about her marriage to Ant, didn\u2019t move on so easily.<\/p>\n

She dated, unsuccessfully, a few times since her divorce and recently split from her boyfriend, the actor Grant Kilburn, who is 15 years her junior.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d been introduced by her Strictly colleague, the dancer Kevin Clifton, late last year following one of their performances of the theatre production 2:22 A Ghost Story, in which he also starred.<\/p>\n

There was \u2018much hope\u2019 that it would last, but the romance fizzled out last month.<\/p>\n

Never one to want to appear beaten down, Lisa took to Instagram on Saturday to wish those on their own on Valentine\u2019s Day strength.<\/p>\n

\u2018Roses are flowers, pebbles are stones, here\u2019s a big shout out to those on their own,\u2019 she penned.<\/p>\n

\u2018Count yourself lucky and try not to sob, look at the bright side, you\u2019re not with a kn*b.\u2019<\/p>\n

One may wonder if Lisa is aiming that comment at Ant, Grant or indeed any of her other exes she has briefly dated over the years.<\/p>\n

Regardless, Lisa will now be feeling lonelier than ever.<\/p>\n

One friend tells me: \u2018It is a tragedy. Lisa missed her chance to have a baby.<\/p>\n

\u2018You have to remember we are talking about a story of great sadness here, she gave Ant everything, she did so much for him and at the end of it all, ended up with an empty crib. It\u2019s utterly heartbreaking. Hurley made all of that much better.<\/p>\n

\u2018Lisa loved that dog so much. He was what kept her going as she watched Ant move on and brutally for her, to become a dad.<\/p>\n

\u2018Hurley made up for having babies, she took so much comfort in him and he made her smile so much but now, if ever there is a time that all of the past hurt will hit her, it will be now.\u2019<\/p>\n

And as for any future reconciliations between the pair, I\u2019m told there is \u2018absolutely no chance\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was the moment that Ant McPartlin and his ex-wife Lisa Armstrong had dreaded for some years. Being…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[97,96,59,82153,388,478,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-427586","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-gb","11":"tag-lisa-armstrong","12":"tag-london","13":"tag-tvshowbiz","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}