James Haskell stepped out without his wedding ring on Wednesday, after he denied any wrongdoing when pictures emerged of him looking cosy with a divorcée.
The rugby ace, 38, was seen in London with his daughter Bodhi, 14 months, who he shares with wife Chloe Madeley. The personal trainer, 36, was also see without her wedding ring in the wake of his up-close exchange last week.
The sportsman was seen whispering into the women’s ear outside Chiltern Firehouse, London, at 1.30am in the early hours of Friday morning. After the picture emerged James claimed it was only a friendly interaction.
It has emerged that James’ female companion was PR beauty Martine Bridge, who was regularly pictured in high society magazine Tatler throughout her 20s.
James looked solemn as he pushed his daughter down the street as he stepped out in the wake of Chloe’s two outings without her ring – one of which saw her ditch the jewellery for a girls’ night out over the weekend.
Out and about: James Haskell stepped out without his wedding ring on Wednesday, after he denied any wrongdoing when pictures emerged of him looking cosy with a divorcee
Stepping out: The rugby ace, 38, was seen in London with his daughter Bodhi, 14 months, who he shares with wife Chloe Madeley. The personal trainer, 36, was also see without her wedding ring in the wake of his up-close exchange last week
Cosy: Martine Bridge, a divorcée, is said to have sparked a rift between Haskell and his wife Chloe when they were seen speaking intimately outside the nightspot at 1.30am
Ring thing: James looked solemn as he pushed his daughter down the street as he stepped out in the wake of Chloe’s two outings without her ring – one of which saw her ditch the jewellery for a girls’ night out over the weekend
Serious: James failed to raise a smile as he emerged with the tot
Comfy: Clad in comfortable clothes comprising all-black sportswear, James was in dad mode
Chloe, who went make-up free and wore her blonde hair pulled back, was dressed down in a black hoodie with gym leggings and trainers. She covered her face with a pair of sunglasses.
The sighting comes hours after she shared a cryptic post to social media , sharing a quote which read: ‘Staid (adj.) sedate, serious, self-restrained. (The staid butler never changed his expression no matter what happened.)’
The couple have not been seen together since the photos of James and Martine emerged over the weekend.
Hitting back at any suggestions of flirting or impropriety, James’ spokesman told The Sun: ‘The woman pictured is a friend of James’s group who he just met that night. They were simply having a conversation outside so there is nothing to this.’
MailOnline contacted James’ representatives for further comment.
Nottingham born Martine and the former rugby player appeared engrossed in conversation as they left the venue, with James now following her on Instagram.
MailOnline revealed Martine is the managing director of PR firm Bridging London and was regularly pictured in high society magazine Tatler throughout her 20s.
After marrying engineer Patrick Unwin in 2018, Martine and her ex separated following a year together.
United: Chloe, who is the daughter of former This Morning hosts Richard and Judy, married ex-rugby player James in 2018 and the pair now share daughter Bodhi together
EXCLUSIVE: The Chloe Madeley lookalike (pictured) who James Haskell was seen chatting to has been ‘good friends’ with the rugby star for years,’ her father has revealed
Heading off: Chloe and James have recently unveiled a new reality show
Huh? James’ latest Instagram photo suggested domestic bliss, as he shared a snap of their daughter in the living room on his Instagram page on Tuesday morning
A source told MailOnline: ‘The woman in the photos with James is Martine Bridge.
‘She’s a hugely successful businesswoman, running her own PR firm, with plenty of celebrity and high society connections. She’s wealthy and certainly at the top of her game.
‘James and Martine have known each other for years and socialise in the same circles. They follow each other on Instagram, it seems likely they will stay connected, at least on social media.’
James’ latest Instagram photo suggested domestic bliss, as he shared a snap of their daughter in the living room on his Instagram page on Tuesday morning.
Alongside the photo, James wrote: ‘I am very pleased with my outfit choice on my baby girl this morning! She was defo best dressed at breakfast.’
Over the weekend, the drama appeared to be the last thing on James’ mind as he let loose at the rugby world cup with friends including Zara Tindall.
In one video, James stripped off from the waist up to reveal his gym-honed torso as he celebrated in the stands following England’s 30-24 victory over Fiji.
Meanwhile, Chloe filled her feed with adorable snaps of Bodhi, including one where the little girl was wrapped up in a blanket during a lunch outing. She captioned it: ‘Sundays with my [world] [heart]’.
Details: Over the summer, Chloe opened up about the challenges in her and James’ relationship after the two became parents in August 2022
Rugged: James was unkempt as he emerged with his daughter
Over the summer, Chloe opened up about the challenges in her and James’ relationship after the two became parents in August 2022.
The star has revealed there were moments when she wondered, ‘are we ever going to come out the other side of this?’ as they battled with sleepless nights and extreme tiredness.
Discussing her marriage with Bella magazine, Chloe admitted she feels she has managed to save her marriage and the couple are now getting back on track.
‘We’re starting to spend more time together and enjoy it as opposed to getting into a competition about who’s more tired and say, ‘who’s done the bottles?”’
Their daughter Bodhi was born last August and the star has been very open about her motherhood journey.
The daughter of TV legends Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan confessed that becoming a mother has taught her so much about herself.
She said: ‘I’ve learned that I am a hell of a lot more capable than I thought.’
In a recent interview, James revealed he had ‘a few arguments’ with Chloe after extending his DJing trip in Ibiza.
Rowing: In a recent interview, James revealed he had ‘a few arguments’ with Chloe after extending his DJing trip in Ibiza
Speaking to Unfiltered, James revealed Chloe thinks his jaunts to Ibiza are a ‘holiday’ for him and was furious when he extended his work trip by a few days, while she cared for their daughter at home.
James admitted: ‘My wife thinks DJing in Ibiza is a holiday – it’s work. We’ve had a few arguments about it. I mean she’s very supportive but kind of extending your trip for a few extra days is probably taking the p**s a little bit.’
The retired athlete said while Chloe was annoyed, the trip had to be extended as ‘I have to do an interview with you guys and I’ve got a boat trip later.’
He added: ‘It’s work but it’s fun. That’s why everyone needs to be a DJ really.’
James said he turned to DJing because he’s a ‘massive attention seeker’.
‘Everything is around performing. I’m a massive attention seeker and I really enjoy performing, none of my work feels like work. The DJing is music and performing, it’s a transition from rugby,’ he said.
‘If I could do only one thing moving forward it would be DJing, but it’s a tough nut to crack obviously.’
Chloe previously spoke out about how she clashed with James over videos of him on stage surrounded by bikini-clad women being posted on social media.
The argument features in their new ITVBe reality show.
Shock: Chloe previously spoke out about how she clashed with James over videos of him on stage surrounded by bikini-clad women being posted on social media
