Insiders: Vanessa Feltz Watching Ex’s New Wife on Insta Despite Denials

When singer Ben Ofoedu married beauty entrepreneur Vanessa Lana Brown this summer he might have hoped it would be a fresh start. 

After all, it came two years after the messy and acrimonious end of his 17–year relationship with Channel 5 presenter Vanessa Feltz. 

The pair had become embroiled in public mud–slinging in the aftermath of the split, with Feltz talking candidly about her heartbreak at finding that Ben, 53, the former singer with 1990s electronic duo Phats & Small, had cheated on her. 

Ben, for his part, admitted the infidelity. But he denied being a ‘love rat’ and claimed that Vanessa had also been unfaithful. 

His marriage in July – to the woman Ben describes, tongue–in–cheek, as ‘Vanessa 2.0’ – was an opportunity, as he told me on his wedding day, to ‘put to bed’ the whole messy chapter. 

And it seemed, on the surface, at least, that Ms Feltz, 63, agreed. In a podcast two weeks ago, referring to their nuptials, she said: ‘Let them get on with it. ‘I don’t want to continue it, and what that person [Ofoedu] goes on to do is of no interest to me whatsoever.’ 

But whether the former This Morning presenter, bitterly hurt by the split, has been able to fully walk away is now in some doubt. 

Sources close to Ofoedu say that she has, in fact, been keeping a keen eye on his new wife’s social media feeds – and, in particular, her ‘stories’ or live reels on photo sharing site Instagram. 

Indeed, they say Ms Feltz has been ‘keeping tabs’ on the newlyweds. The couple say they have 22 screenshots proving that Ms Feltz has viewed Ms Brown’s Instagram posts about her dates with Mr Ofoedu over a six-month period. 

Tellingly, she does not follow either of them on the social media platform – which means she would have had to actively seek out Ms Brown’s profile in order to see her posts. Although Ms Brown’s profile is public, meaning her stories can be viewed by anyone.

Sources close to Ben tell me: ‘As soon as Ben went public with the new Vanessa 2.0, Feltzy has watched her stories every day for months, which they have both found quite unsettling. 

‘Through mutual friends, Ben let Feltzy know he knew she was watching them, and three weeks later she stopped, which has been a relief to them both. 

‘What 2.0 probably should have done was block her, but she has no problem with her and didn’t see the point, as she wanted to be mature about it. 

‘Her words to me were, ‘Everyone has an ex, but we all get over it and move on.’ ‘But it seems this is not the case. 

Vanessa has turned their 17-year history into a series of unpleasant narratives which have forced him to address her untrue comments, many of which have been in the media and her autobiography.

‘Funny thing is, Ben and Vanessa [Feltz] finally agree on something – they both never want to see each other again.’ Ms Feltz herself – addressing her former partner’s wedding – insisted on a podcast last month that she was ‘not a social media stalker’ and had no interest in his new life. 

Friends of Vanessa say that she hasn’t looked at Ofodeu’s wife’s social media ‘in months’.

One added: ‘One minute Ben was going to marry a woman called Precious but that ended and very soon after she saw that he was with another much younger woman.

‘Anyone else in the whole world would have been intrigued to have a look at that and wonder what the hell is going on.

‘Vanessa soon packed it in! She read English Literature at Cambridge. This woman’s syrupy Instagram was less than enthralling.’

But she can perhaps be forgiven for a bit of curiosity. After all, which spurned woman can say they have not kept tabs on an ex after a messy break up?

 It certainly can’t have been easy to watch from the sidelines as the man she was engaged to for seven years made plans to walk down the aisle with another woman. 

Ms Feltz and Ofoedu began dating in 2006 and got engaged ten years later, but their relationship collapsed in January 2023 after details of his infidelity were leaked.

He admitted that he had cheated on Vanessa while on tour with Phats & Small in Ibiza in 2015, but was left infuriated when she used the experience as material for her 2024 memoir, Vanessa Bares All.

The two years since the split have been a bitter war of words between the pair. Ofoedu found love again – ironically, with another blonde Vanessa – after meeting Ms Brown at an awards ceremony last year. 

They were engaged by February this year and it seemed both parties were keen to move on. 

His wedding took place in the 13th century Rose Castle in Cumbria with celebrity guests including Boyzone’s Shane Lynch, who acted as best man, his former bandmate Keith Duffy, S Club 7’s Bradley McIntosh and pop group 911’s Lee Brennan. 

The couple then jetted to Verona for their honey moon, where they admitted to me that they were ‘totally in love and trying for a baby’. 

During the honeymoon, Ms Feltz spoke to Siobhan Wycks on Best Magazine’s Suddenly Single podcast and insisted she was over the whole ordeal.

‘It has no impact on my life and that’s how I feel,’ she said. ‘I really mean it, neutral. I’m the person who ended the relationship. 

‘What do I care? I hope they have a good time; I don’t care.’ 

And she told listeners: ‘I didn’t get rid of them [Ofoedu] to keep thinking about them and keeping tabs on what they are doing – far from it. 

‘I’m the absolute opposite of a social media stalker. That’s not me, I’m not that. I’m not keeping tabs or anything like that, I’m not, and that’s the truth.’ 

Ofoedu and his new wife, however, might disagree.