Fans were shocked when Amanda Holden opened up recently to reveal that she and her husband Chris Hughes lead ‘separate lives’. The Britain’s Got Talent judge, who’s been with music producer Chris since 2004, explained how their hectic work schedules have taken a toll on their 16-year marriage.
‘I’ve been married for over 20 years. Well, I met him in 2003, I can’t work it out,’ she said. ‘Anyway, a long time, and our lives have been very separate for a long time because we’re both very busy.’
Amanda, 54, added that her interests also differ from her husband’s. ‘Obviously, we’re very happily married, but we do lots of things separately,’ she told her radio co-host Jamie Theakston. ‘I love my Peloton and running, he goes and plays squash. He’s got a massive career as well. We’re always separate, you know.’
And now sources tell Closer that while they hardly see each other, the TV presenter has told friends she wants to rekindle the spark in their relationship.
‘They’re both crazy busy but Amanda is aware that if she doesn’t spend more time on date nights and making quality time to hang out, cracks and resentment could set in,’ our insider reveals. ‘She has said that at times they’re like ships in the night. It can be a struggle making time for one another.
‘Amanda jokes that she’s married to showbiz and to her job and said her agent usually gets more of her time than Chris does. She reckons she’d need a nine-day week to fit her husband in.’
It’s been a very busy time for Amanda recently. As well as Britain’s Got Talent, the star has been working on BBC quiz show The Inner Circle, Netflix’s Cheaters: Unfinished Business and her travel show with Alan Carr, as well as her radio show. In January, she jetted to Dubai for the launch of Revive Collagen and, last month, she was in Barbados for the half-term holiday. ‘What a dream. To be with family and friends in glorious sunshine was just what we needed,’ she said.
While she shared photos of her ‘amazing’ holiday with her daughters Lexi, 19, and Hollie, 13, her husband Chris, 52, was nowhere to be seen.
‘Chris is often seen in the shadows. He is very aware Amanda’s time in the public domain is not his,’ the insider reveals. ‘Chris gets Amanda at home after-hours but with her travelling, being on location, gym workouts, hair appointments, back-to-back filming and radio schedules, along with photo shoots and interviews and their kids, this time is becoming rare.’
The couple have already taken a big step into changing that, as they spoke to each other to try to find an activity they can do together and reconnect. ‘Chris said to me, “We need to do more together, we need a hobby”,’ Amanda has revealed.
The pair agreed to make the time to play badminton together every week since that conversation, and have already had their first match. ‘We just got into the swing of it and we absolutely loved it,’ she said. ‘We played for a good solid hour, we just knocked about a bit. He won 21-15 but I thought that wasn’t bad for me.’ She added, ‘This is the start of a beautiful…we’ve just got to find the time each week, as obviously that is where we struggle. Honestly, we had such a laugh and then all night we were saying how much we loved it.’
However, Amanda’s recent painful foot injury could put a halt to their sports dates for a while. Earlier this month, she tripped over in heels and believes she has now caused an old injury to flare up again. She previously tore tendons in her right foot five years ago. ‘All weekend I’ve had a blue foot and I’ve been in my slippers, so I’m trying to [go for] either an MRI or an X-ray,’ she admitted. ‘The pain is even worse than breaking it. It’s blue and it’s swollen, it looks like it’s got… I call it granny foot so I couldn’t run up the corridor like I normally do.’
Despite her injury, Amanda is hoping that this is just a setback and is intent on working on strengthening their marriage..
‘Amanda realises that something’s got to give but it’s not quite that simple. She knows she needs to prioritise her husband – who knows how she would cope without him,’ the insider reveals.
'They’ve talked about trying a getaway to spend real down time together – alone. The kids are old enough to hold the fort. Amanda knows she needs to consider this. Until now it’s always been as a family so going on holiday alone would be alien to her. But it’s a great place to start, even if it’s a long weekend.’