Chris and Ingrid Tarrant's teenage daughter Samantha has spoken out for the first time about her father's seven-year affair, saying she will "never fully forgive him". While Samantha is due to spend Christmas with her mum and brother Toby, her dad will be with friends at the flat he has bought not far from the family home in Cobham, Surrey.
"I will miss my dad this Christmas, but he has caused a lot of hurt in our family," the 18-year-old, known as Sammy, told First magazine. "Yet he excused his actions as 'what boys do'. How pathetic is that? What I really want to ask my dad is this, "Was it worth it?'."
Sammy says people have told her to forgive and forget, but she is clearly still angry with her father three months after the news broke of his affair. "I wonder if spending Christmas without us will really make him realise what he has lost," she said. "I thought we were a happy family who always looked out for each other. Obviously Dad has other things on his mind. Part of me feels sorry for him because I don't think he fully envisaged the consequences of his betrayal."
Television presenter Chris, 60, has said he feels "very sad" that his wife and now daughter have chosen to make their feelings public. "It is of course a hard time for all of us," he says, "and while I remain remorseful, what is all this trying to achieve? Maybe one day, like me, they will remember the happy times."
While acknowledging his children are disappointed in him, Chris is still hoping they will pop in on Christmas Day. "I'm not going to pretend that any of this is ideal, but we'll get there. They know that I still love them, I'm still their dad and they can still depend on me in every way."
He adds, however, that while he's not making excuses for himself, "the fact that I had an affair for seven years foes suggest things were not perfect at home".
Photo: © Alphapress.com
