Breaking up with Eddie left me so heartbroken I couldn’t breathe admits ‘floored’ Denise Van Outen
DENISE Van Outen was left "broken" and "unable to breathe or function" after her split from fiance Eddie Boxshall.
After a seven-year romance, Denise and Eddie went their separate ways in January, 2022.
Now for the first time in months, the beloved presenter has spoken about her breakup on the Happy Place podcast.
Celebrity Gogglebox fans were in shock when Denise Van Outen announced her split with long-term partner Eddie Boxshall on Instagram.
The seemingly unbreakable pair called it quits after what she called "months of speculation."
Since then, the actress has released a book titled A Bit of Me: From Basildon To Broadway And Back, published in February, 2022, in which she opened up about her life.
In her memoir, Denise revealed the cause of the breakup after remaining tight-lipped about it since January.
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She claimed she had caught Eddie cheating with several women after finding a series of flirty messages and photos on his phone.
The autobiography was also an opportunity for her to go over the heartache she felt once her relationship with Eddie was over.
"It’s the worst. It’s horrible", Denise recalled, speaking today in Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast.
Denise mentioned that she felt her fans deserved to know the truth as she had worked with her former partner in the public eye.
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"The only reason I did put that in there (book) because I felt I had to speak about it because we had worked on television together so there was interest from people", she said.
But things became harrowing for the presenter as her book was due for release the same week she had caught Eddie being unfaithful.
"I was like you’ve got to hold this book I can’t release it. But it was horrible and heartache is horrible and it doesn’t matter who you are where you’re from", she said.
"Hurts just as deep, and loads of people have messaged me on social media, women and men who’ve gone through it.
"Those nights of just sitting there on the patio 3/4 o clock in the morning feeling drained and empty and thinking I don’t know how I’m going to get through the next week because enough feel so broken, it’s horrible."
"It hurts. I couldn’t breathe, I phoned one of my friends one night and I felt like someone was sitting on my chest, literally could not breathe, you get that knot in your stomach, and it wont go, and you’re like when will this feeling leave me?"
But living in the spotlight not only added pressure on Denise, it also seemed to push her to move forward with her life.
"You can’t function, and because of being in the public eye you also just want to get on with it and you want to be seen to be getting on with it."
Denise detailed Eddie's affair in her book, writing: "Among photos was a screenshot… of a woman’s breasts – and they definitely weren’t mine!"
A text exchange, as she remembered had also "set off alarm bells."
Denise was introduced to Eddie during a blind date in 2014, set up by presenter Zoe Hardman.
The pair hit it off and had been together since shortly after Denise's divorce from her ex husband, West End star Lee Mead.
While Denise has been accustomed to the limelight, Eddie hasn't been involved in showbiz, working instead as a commodities trader.
Although she decided to let the public know about the aftermath of their breakup, Eddie first chose to stay quiet.
However, fans have noticed cryptic posts online which include a photo of a white banner which read "Don’t Believe Everything You Read."
But in an exclusive interview with The Sun on Sunday, in May, 2022, Eddie spoke out about the relationship and its breakdown.
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Eddie didn't deny his infidelity, stating: "I broke her trust. I'm deeply sorry."
He also remembered how Denise screamed at him and threw him out when she discovered he had been unfaithful.
