Jermaine Jenas' wife Ellie Penfold breaks silence on sexting scandal as she reveals her focus

The wife of has revealed the past three months since his sexting scandal have been "incredibly difficult".

In her first public appearance since the former footballer was sacked by the , Ellie Penfold was reportedly seen without her wedding ring. Jermaine, who previously played for Tottenham Hotspur and had presented , had issued a public apology to his wife and the mum of his three kids following the revelation he had been flirtatiously texting other women.

Now, at the launch of her personal care brand Preppy, Ellie admitted times had been tough for both herself and her family. Speaking to , Ellie said: "My only focus has been on our children and building my brand Preppy. Now I just want to move forward. Naturally this has been hard for me but my only concern has been our children and that will not change."

She added she has been focused on her brand for three years and revealed Jermaine has remained supportive over the project. "Jermaine is excited for the business and what it holds for me in the future," she said. "He has been supportive of me in this respect and as a working mum."

In September, Jermaine thanked those who supported him following the scandal. The 41-year-old was removed from the presenting line-ups of Match Of The Day and The One Show by the BBC last month following complaints about workplace conduct.

He previously apologised to his former female colleagues for sending "inappropriate messages", but insisted they were "between two consenting adults" and that his behaviour was not illegal. In a video on , Jermaine said: "I just thought it was important for me to jump on here actually and just talk to you lot and say thank you for the level of support that you've shown me.

"It's clearly been a difficult period for me but one I will definitely grow from. We're human beings, it is what it is, you'll learn from it. Become a better person. I think those are the things that are important in life. None of us are perfect and we've just got to find a way to just keep moving forward, look after our babies and our families in the best way we possibly can and that's something I will be trying to do."

Following his sacking in August, the BBC released a statement about the allegations. A spokesperson for the organisation said at the time: “We can confirm that he is no longer part of our presenting line up.” He had previously been linked as a potential successor to host on Match of the Day, prior to Gary's own exit.

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