We're so used to Real Housewives of Cheshire icon Lystra Adams being her infectiously warm, exuberant and effortlessly fabulous self both on and off ITVBe cameras, that when we popped on to Instagram last night and stumbled across a new video of the reality queen looking teary eyed and deflated, we were genuinely concerned.
As it turns out, Lystra was taking to her grid to announce that she has split with long-term girlfriend, Ashley, who she went public with during the series 15 reunion in 2023.
While celeb split announcements are hardly uncommon on social media, this one came as somewhat of a surprise to us and fans alike, as until now, this romance was very much giving forever, with Lystra even hinting at marrying her 'wifey' in the near future.
On Sunday 12 January 2025, Lystra took to her Instagram to confirm that her and Ashley 'have decided to end our relationship,' but stressed that they still remain 'best of friends.'
In a tearful message, she told her followers, ‘I’m going to make this really quick and you know that I share everything with you guys, whether good or bad or indifferent, so here it is. I’ll start off by saying, for me, I’d rather to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Myself and wifey have decided to end our relationship. We’re not longer together, but we still remain best of friends. Wifey, I love you dearly and, yeah, we still remain friends, but I just wanted to let you guys know that we’re no longer together.’
Naturally, her Real Housewives of Cheshire co-stars took to the comments with messages of support, but the message that caught our eye was from Ashley herself, who commented on the post with three white heart emojis.
Earlier today (Monday 13 January), Lystra shared another grid post of her and her daughter Jasmine and continued to talk about the split in the caption, confirming that she will go into more detail on series 18 of The Real Housewives of Cheshire, describing said scenes as 'the hardest scenes I've had to film,' adding that fans will see her at her 'most vulnerable' in the ten-year anniversary series.
'This is one of the hardest scenes I’ve had to film 🎥 with my daughter @jasminelovelll speaking about my #breakup 💔 I’m laughing in the pics but before I was in floods of tears 😭 this new series coming is probably the most vulnerable you will see me,' read the caption.
Before her very first episode of Housewives aired in 2020, Lystra told Closer online, 'I am free, single and disengaged.'
Lystra was looking for love and said that she would want anyone she is interested in to be a part of the show.
She said, 'If I find [a partner], you will know. I want you to see my love life and the progression of it and where it goes.'
That transpired when she went public with Ashley in March 2023.
We genuinely wish Lystra and Ashley all the best, and remind social media users to be kind and respect that breakups are never easy, even the amicable ones.
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Ben Pulsford is a digital writer for Bauer Media, writing for both Closer online and heatworld. When he's not getting paid to gossip about TOWIE, Love Island and The Real Housewives of Cheshire, he's storming the London LGBTQ+ scene as drag queen, Beary Poppins. Both Ben and Beary are awaiting an invite to join The Real Housewives of Cheshire for series 18. The budget's not there, but the drama is 💅.