She’d managed to turn her life around following her bitter and very public divorce battle from Ant McPartlin by finding new love – even sparking rumours of wedding bells.
But after a painful break-up from boyfriend James Green in July, Lisa Armstrong faced yet more heartbreak last week as she watched the home she’d shared with Ant partly destroyed by a fire.
Days later, emotional Lisa posted a heartbreaking quote to her Instagram that read, “Once the heart gets too heavy with pain, people don’t cry. They just turn silent. Completely silent.”
Insiders say the blaze has been extremely upsetting for Strictly make-up guru Lisa, 46, as so many emotions were tied up in the West London house where she lived with Ant before their split in 2018. Though she’d been awarded the £5m home in their divorce settlement, she’d moved two streets away and had been renting it out.
An insider tells Closer, “Lisa’s been really shaken by the fire. She couldn't help but think about the past and her marriage to Ant. The rooms that they lived in together and all those shared memories. It brought back a lot of pain and heartache – she feels as if the past is coming back to haunt her.
“Part of why she kept hold of the house is that she just can’t let it go. There’s too much history. She was very relieved that no one was hurt – though sadly, the tenant’s cat died.
“It’s been really stressful, especially on top of her split from James. She felt quite alone watching that fire destroying such a big part of her life.”
Lisa met electrician James in 2020, just months after her £31m divorce from Ant, 47 – who moved on with the couple’s former PA, Anne-Marie Corbett, and married her in 2021.
Lisa had regularly posted loved-up selfies of her and James, 40, but insiders revealed the pair had split in July, with her friends reportedly “blind-sided” by the news. And our insider says that following the break-up, Lisa has been left wondering if she’ll be able to find love and put her trust in a man again.
The source says, “She’s been trying to lose herself in work with Strictly now in full flow, and has been catching up with friends. Lisa says she’s ready to date again, but she’s scared about who to trust. Men slide into her DMs, but she suspects many do so because she’s famous. She wants someone normal who isn’t fazed by her showbiz life – but it’s hard. It seems to attract the wrong kind of people.
“On top of that, Lisa has said she still feels the effects of her divorce. Although James helped her heal, being on her own again has opened old wounds. She still has a lot of work to do on herself before starting something new.”
