Helen Skelton has revealed just how brutal she found her public split from her former husband, rugby league footballer, Richie Myler, four years ago and how it impacted her family17:26, 01 Jul 2026Helen Skelton has revealed she felt publicly humiliated after splitting from Richie Myler. The former Blue Peter presenter, 42, married Myler in December 2013, but the relationship broke down just shy of ten years later, with Richie moving out of the family home.‌But while Helen had been in entertainment since 2005, after becoming one of the BBC's youngest breakfast-slot hosts on Radio Cumbria, she admits she found the aftermath of her split humiliating.‌Growing up in a small Cumbrian village, Helen acknowledged that people around her knew details about her personal life and would often stop and ask her family questions.‌"It felt humiliating to me because of where I'm from," she said. Speaking to The Times, Helen went on to add: "I didn't enjoy walking down the street and people knowing stuff about my past."Her dad, Richard, would overhear conversations about Helen at his local golf club, and employees at her local Sainsbury's would question the presenter about her love life while she was doing her grocery shop.‌Just months after she and Richie split, the former Blue Peter presenter landed a role competing on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, which enhanced her profile and added a new element to her split.But Helen used this platform, in which she finished in second place, as the perfect revenge to demonstrate she was doing ok on her own, without a husband.‌During her stint on the show, Helen danced to Mein Herr from Cabaret, which was dubbed her "revenge dance". She said of the moment: "It struck a chord, one of the dancers said, 'You did that for all of us, didn't you?'"I wanted to have my own narrative. I was sick of the patronising looks, the "Ooh, how are you?" I didn't have the capacity to say, 'I'm brilliant, how are you?' That's what the dance did." As part of her routine, she mouthed Cabaret's Sally Bowles' legendary line "You're better off without me," as a huge moment to those who doubted her.Following her appearances on Morning Live, Helen has been surrounded by speculation that she was romantically involved with her co-star, Gethin Jones. However, she says this couldn't be further from the truth, adding that he's simply one of her "best friends".‌After the pair had reportedly enjoyed spa trips and joined one another at the Pride of Britain, Helen said of any future dates between the pair: "No, well, he's in Manchester working away, so yeah, no, all good.""We just work together, we are not together. No, no, no. We are just work friends. They printed pictures of us at work and that we're together because we are at work together."And there is no chance Helen would be signing up for the likes of Tinder any time soon. Helen recently hit back against the idea that women become "invisible" in midlife. "I think that's just a reflection of where people think they are on the priority list," she revealed. "When you're in your 40s, you've got house commitments, family commitments, relationship commitments, and feeling good in an on-trend outfit is sometimes far down the to-do list.Article continues below"When you hit this chapter of life, you've got a lot of people to look after, so you have to step forward and be the matriarch rather than stand in the background. That’s the irony – the time when you feel invisible is the time when everybody needs you. But if you haven't got a spring in your own step, how can you make sure everybody else is springing?"Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.