Louise Redknapp has broken her silence after she was pictured hand-in-hand with a "mystery man" following one of her recent performances in West End musical, 9 to 5. Taking to her Instagram page on Sunday to clarify who the man was, the former Strictly star wrote: "Just to clear up the reports that are in the papers today! This lovely man is head of security at Soho House and kindly helped me out of the car with my bags and across some roadworks!"
© Photo: Getty ImagesJamie and Louise parted ways in 2017 after 19 years of marriage
The 44-year-old, who finalised her divorce from Jamie Redknapp in December 2017 after 19 years of marriage, revealed this kind of speculation could be damaging on any party involved. "For this to be portrayed as anything else is complete fabrication and nice gesture has been blown out of proportion," she added. "I would never normally comment on such a story but when it involves someone else and could hurt them, their family and friends as well as my own children I feel I need to do so."
READ: Harry Redknapp reveals 'love' for former daughter-in-law Louise despite split with son
The report came shortly after her ex-husband was pictured on a night out with model Lizzie Bowden. Last month, Louise admitted it was "easy to blame" Jamie for her self-esteem issues as she reflected on their marriage in an interview with YOU Magazine. In the candid discussion, the mum-of-two confessed she should have "spoken up" about her personal struggles to Jamie before their divorce in 2017. "I wish, three years ago, I'd been able to just speak up," she explained. "For a long time it was easy to blame him."
MORE: Stacey Dooley addresses ex-boyfriend's candid interview following their shock split
Louise added: "In the past six months, I've thought, you know what, it was down to me to say, 'Something’s not right. My self-esteem is really struggling. I've got no passion. I love my kids more than anything in the world. I love what I do, too, and I haven’t quite got the guts to go out and try to do it again.'" With hindsight, the mother-of-two reflected: "I just didn’t speak up. I don’t blame anyone else for that."
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
