Jermaine Jenas was ‘prepared to be unhappy for the rest of his life' to stay with wife before she divorced him
Ellie announced her split with former Tottenham and England star Jenas in March.
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Their break-up came six months after Jenas was axed by the BBC following a sexting scandal.
The 42-year-old was relieved of his services by the Beeb after being accused of sending X-rated texts to two female colleagues.
Jenas, who has four children with Ellie, went on to admit to sending the messages, but stressed that the texts were consensual and that he had not broken the law.
The former One Show host told The Sun that Ellie was "raging" following the allegations - but that he hoped to work through their issues.
In March, however, Ellie took to Instagram to reveal that their marriage was over after 14 years.
Jenas, who returned to punditry work with talkSPORT in February, has now opened up on his marriage ending during an appearance on the Filthy Fellas podcast.
Speaking candidly about his break-up, Jenas said: "It was her decision and one that I had to accept.
"If it was up to me - and I think a lot of men are like this - I'd probably be prepared to be unhappy for the rest of my life if [it meant] I had my kids in it. If I have my kids, I'm quite happy to sacrifice."
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Jenas then went on to add: "It's a man thing. Relationships are what they are - they have highs, they have lows and people cheat - some people do, some people don't, but you figure a lot of things out.
"The reality is we both were in a position where we were like 'are we really happy?'
Jermaine Jenas says he's 'coming back a better person' as he returns to talkSPORT after 'inappropriate' texts
"From her side of things, she'd ran the course more than probably me. But I was much more happy to go 'I'll be unhappy if I can stay in this house with you and these kids'.
"It wasn't to be for her, so we went our separate ways and that is that."
Speaking frankly about the situation, Jenas said of why he and Ellie broke up: "The reality is, me and my wife haven't split up because I sent some text messages to some people at work.
"We had issues for a period of time, it all comes to a head and you eventually make a decision to say, as adults, we will be better parents for our children if we just remain friends and that's it.
'DRAGGED ME OUT THE GUTTER'
"We had 16 amazing years together, me and my wife, how many people last that long? Sixteen years. Ups and downs. She caught the wrong end of my [playing] career, bless her.
"She was the one that dragged me out of the gutter when my knee was hanging off, career done. She's the one that picked me back up and gave me the belief and the strength to go 'get yourself back out there, I believe in you'."
Upon his return to talkSPORT in February, Jenas vowed to learn from his mistakes.
'WORK ON YOURSELF'
The former Match of the Day pundit said: "The biggest thing in this whole situation is about taking responsibility and that has been at the forefront of my mind…
"There's a reason why you're in this position and there's a reason why this has happened.
"Once you accept those things, then you can work on yourself and you can work on the other things and you can work on your family and work towards a brighter future.'
Confirming their split a month later, Ellie wrote on Instagram: "I never imagined I would have to share something so personal with the public, but given the situation, I feel it's necessary.
"After 16 years together and 4 wonderful children, Jermaine and I have decided to part ways. We will remain friends and continue to co-parent.
"We kindly ask that you respect our children's privacy during this challenging time. Thank you, Ellie."
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