Vanessa Feltz has blasted her pals for ‘setting her up with men who look like they’ve been dug up’, following her split from toyboy Ben Ofoedu.

The TV veteran, 61, and the Phats & Small singer, 51, broke up last year after 17 years as a couple and she has now been candid about the struggles of moving on. 

Speaking on Monday’s episode of Loose Women, she noted how ‘absolutely hilarious’ dating in her Sixties has turned out to be. 

She said of her potential suitors: ‘If I had to hold [their] hand I would puke’, before hitting out at her pals for the standard of men. Elsewhere on the show, she added that she ‘dreaded’ being on her own as she was made to feel ‘lonely and cold’.

Her appearance on the show comes after Ben slammed Vanessa by claiming she stole the ‘best years of my life’ and used him as ‘eye candy.’

Vanessa Feltz has blasted her pals for ‘setting her up with men who look like they’ve been dug up’, following her split from toyboy Ben Ofoedu

The TV veteran, 61, and the Phats & Small singer, 51, broke up last year after 17 years as a couple and she has now been candid about the struggles of moving on (the couple pictured in 2018)

He told MailOnline he prefers being with his new girlfriend Precious Muir, 34, because the 10-year age gap between him and Vanessa ‘bred insecurity.’

It has been just over a year since Ben and Vanessa ended their 17-year relationship after the This Morning agony aunt accused him of being unfaithful. He later admitted that he had slept with one woman and shared inappropriate texts with another.

But since Vanessa went public Ben says he has been left ‘picking up the pieces’, with his ex ‘spinning a narrative to make me look like the bad guy’ when he felt he had also been mistreated.

Then along came Precious, who he says makes him feel like he’s 34 again, the same age he met former fiancée Vanessa, who he claimed never wanted to marry him.

Ben said: ‘I wasn’t very clever with my last relationship. I didn’t look at where the person was, and love was blinding me. I thought love conquers all but inevitably it doesn’t.

‘I gave myself to someone for a quarter of my life and ultimately I got nothing from it… it’s absolutely heartbreaking. I met Vanessa when I was 34 and I lived 17 years in her life and it was all what she wanted.

‘So now I’m with Precious I feel 34 again and like I have got back my life. I have the same aspirations I had at 34.

‘I’m looking forward to a bright future, many more Valentine’s Days, living together and children… and these things are incredibly exciting for me. Precious has made me feel like I have got my life back.’

Speaking on Monday’s episode of Loose Women, she noted how ‘absolutely hilarious’ dating in her Sixties has turned out to be

Ben met Precious at a showbiz event, having snubbed the opportunity to find love on dating apps. She is a model, movie producer and a reality star, who appeared in Channel 4 series The Circle.

He says the pair ‘are on the same page’ and are honest with each other about their future and where they see the relationship going.

It’s a stark contrast to how he felt dating Vanessa, whom he believes only dated him for his looks and to make her feel young and hip.

He explained: ‘I was so in love but I felt like I was being strung along and she just wanted a bit of arm candy, whereas I wanted marriage and kids and real love.

‘For her, I felt I was just a convenience. I was a cooler, younger guy that gave her a youthful appearance.

He told MailOnline he prefers being with his new girlfriend Precious Muir, 34, because the 10-year age gap between him and Vanessa ‘bred insecurity’

‘A woman can take your best years of being 34, 35 and 36 and throughout your 40s and she’s saying he did this, and spinning a narrative to make me look like the bad guy, and I’m left picking up the pieces.’

Ben prefers being the older one in the relationship as he says it feels natural, and there’s less chance of his partner being insecure if they’re dating an older man.

Precious is very aware of the public fallout between Ben and Vanessa but hasn’t delved too deep into the detail, according to the musician.

Asked how he thinks Vanessa feels about his new relationship, Ben said: ‘I don’t think about her anymore’. 

Asked how he thinks Vanessa feels about his new relationship, Ben said: ‘I don’t think about her anymore’