Chantelle Houghton has opened up about ex-husband Preston's famous walkout, saying she was touched he refused to sit there while she was being grilled17:38, 31 Jul 2026Chantelle Houghton has opened up about the moment her then-husband Preston walked off the set of Never Mind The Buzzcocks after presenter Simon Amstell mocked her autobiography.‌The former Celebrity Big Brother star said she was watching from the green room when Amstell began reading extracts from her book during the singer's appearance on the BBC comedy panel show.‌Chantelle admitted some of the passages were embarrassing and “cringeworthy”, but said she was grateful that Preston chose to leave rather than sit through what she felt was disrespect towards her. Speaking to Paul C Brunson on the We Need To Talk podcast, she recalled: “I was so touched that he got up and walked out because actually, the presenter was just disrespecting me.‌“But he got so much backlash for doing that, he got so much backlash for walking out, but he just didn't want to sit there and listen to his wife be disrespected. I really appreciated what he did.”Preston had been appearing on Never Mind The Buzzcocks when Amstell picked up Chantelle's autobiography and began reading sections aloud in a mocking fashion.‌Chantelle said she had been watching from the waiting room as the exchange unfolded and felt the presenter was attempting to make her look foolish.She explained: “And, yeah, they did sound embarrassing, and it was cringeworthy, and it was making a fool of me, and Preston was obviously just expected to sit there and listen to it.”‌At the time, Preston's decision to leave the programme sparked a backlash. A BBC spokesperson subsequently defended the show's style, saying: “It's a shame Preston felt he had to leave.. Fans will know Simon loves to banter with his guests. It's the nature of the show - and it's not meant in a mean way.”Preston later reflected on the incident himself, admitting in 2009 that he struggled to understand why he had behaved that way. However, his view appeared to have changed years later. In January 2026, the Ordinary Boys frontman described the walkout as a “proud moment”, telling The Guardian that the treatment had been “cruel and classist”.‌Chantelle and Preston met while appearing on Celebrity Big Brother and became engaged four months after leaving the house in January 2006. They married four months later, but their relationship ended within a year.Looking back, Chantelle said they were simply too different and admitted they probably should never have married. She told the podcast: “We should never have got married, like it should have been what it was. But you know what, we were young, we were on this crazy ride of Big Brother.“In real life, we would never have met, he wouldn't have fancied me, I wouldn't have fancied him, we just weren't right.” Despite the short-lived marriage, Chantelle said their split was completely amicable.‌She added: “It was the most amicable divorce ever, the day I moved out of the house we hugged and said goodbye, there was no nastiness, no bitterness, no hate, no nothing. It was a very easy breakup.” The TV personality has since found love again and revealed she spent years single by choice before meeting her current partner.She said she had not dated or had any sexual relationship with a man for “many, many, many years” before meeting him, adding that she now loves him “with my whole being”.Chantelle said their relationship felt “easy”, “comfortable” and “reassuring”, adding that she had never experienced the feeling of “pure love” before.Article continues belowShe was previously engaged to Katie Price's ex-husband Alex Reid, with whom she shares 13-year-old daughter Dolly. Chantelle also previously dated former Crimewatch presenter Rav Wilding, with their relationship ending after they were pictured during a public row in 2012.Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .