Inbetweeners Stars Marriage: Public Rows Exposed

The former Inbetweeners star and his wife Clair are known for their unpolished insight into married life on the couple's podcast.

Indeed, the pair are beloved by fans for their ‘relatable’ content as they share their daily gripes and squabbles on At Home With The Buckleys' weekly episodes.

But sources suggest there has been something of a change between the couple in recent weeks. Viewers and close pals alike have raised concerns about escalating tensions on the show between them. 

This comes alongside a conspicuous absence of each other from their respective social media posts lately - apart from promotional content - and the decision to axe the podcast and focus exclusively on video. It has left many fearing all is not well at Chez Buckley.

James, who became a household name thanks to his role as Jay Cartwright on the E4 show during the Noughties, has been accused by fans of being ‘distant’ and dismissive of his wife on air.

Their recorded rows have reached such fever pitch that Clair herself admitted to listeners that their team had decided to scrap an entire section of a recent episode.

She explained: ‘The first half [of the episode] went OK, but by the second we were having a proper barney.’

Backing her up, James added: ‘We were bickering but not in an entertaining way, I thought, “Oh, there might be trouble".’

Those who know the couple have been left shocked at their public rows, which at first many believed to be fake.

‘It has become so awkward,’ says one pal. ‘There’s one thing playing up to the cameras but it seems deeper than that, like something isn’t right there.

‘It doesn’t seem fake anymore. Sometimes, you listen to them on their shows and they really don’t seem to like one another.’

The couple wed in 2012 in an intimate ceremony at Edinburgh's Dundas Castle, which was attended by James’s Inbetweeners co-stars Simon Bird, Joe Thomas and Blake Harrison.

Their romance started on X in 2010. Clair, who is an actress herself, followed James and to her surprise, he followed her back. After messaging for a while, they agreed to meet up for a drink. On that fateful date, James asked her: ‘Why don’t you just come back with me?’ and she did. They have lived together since.

Now, 16 years later, they have two sons, Harrison, 14, and Jude, 12.

But fans have also noticed more subtle signs that the married pair are at loggerheads.

Loyal viewers have criticised James for what appears to be his inability to let his wife finish her sentences.

In an episode at the beginning of the year, Clair appeared visibly drained during a squabble over DIY.

They were discussing James’s inability to hang a floating shelf that Clair had wanted him to put up.

‘The only reason I asked you to do it is because I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t physically do it - I wasn’t there!’ she explained.

Clair continued: ‘Anyway, it’s a whole big shelf story...’ before James interrupted her. Clair then angrily leant forward, pointed her finger at him, and shouted: ‘Let me finish, let me finish!’

In jest at his wife, James replied: ‘This is a sponsored episode, this is the episode where we get divorced.’

While some might pass this off as a relatively mundane outburst for a married couple, many avid fans of the show are worried.

The comment section on the YouTube videos of their podcast contain messages from fans who think trouble is brewing.

One follower wrote: ‘Let her finish a sentence, mate.’

Another went so far as to say: ‘You guys know divorce is an option, right?’

The couple have recently finished their tour, Out With The Buckleys, which saw them travel up and down the country with a live version of their podcast.They sold out a number of dates, including at the Palladium in London.

As such, marriage woes would not just spell heartache for their family - it would also harm the business they have spent years building.

As a couple, they are relatively well off. Their joint company, which they use for their media activities, has almost £900,000 in the bank and more than £1million in assets.