Jermaine Jenas says he wanted to STAY with his wife before she divorced him and was 'prepared to be unhappy for the rest of my life' with her for the sake of seeing his kids
The former Newcastle and Tottenham midfielder - who was capped 21 times by England between 2003 and 2009 - was sacked by the BBC in August amid allegations of workplace misconduct after sending explicit texts to two female employees.
While at the time Jenas said he and Penfold, who married in 2011, hoped to work through their marital troubles, the couple eventually split in March this year.
In a statement shared on social media, she wrote: '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.'
Now, Jenas has broken his silence over the matter and revealed that he was keen to stay with his ex-wife but that she had decided otherwise.
Speaking on the Filthy Fellas podcast, 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.
'It's a man thing. If I wake up with my kids everyday, I'm quite happy to sacrifice the happiness. The reality is, we were both in a position where we like: 'Are we really happy?'.
'From her side of things, she's probably ran the course much more than 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'. But it wasn't to be for her and we went our separate ways.
'She has understood the scenario that we've been in as a family. Kids first is our motto. We have to be the best parents we can possibly be. So I've been spending so much time at home.
'Not loads has changed really, it's just mine and her relationship has gone into more of a friendship than a relationship.
'I do believe there is going to come a moment where I'm sat in my apartment one day and be like: 'This is mad. I had my whole family around me every single day. [Now] I'm not hearing that pitter patter of feet'.
'That's going to be the tough side of it. But that's part of dealing with the situation. The reality is, me and my wife didn't split up because I sent some text messages to some people at work.
'We had issues for a period of time and it all comes to a head. Eventually, you make a decision to say, as adults, we will be better parents for our children if we remain friends. We had 16 amazing years together. She's a great woman.
In November, Jenas shared a gushing tribute to his wife as she marked the launch of her personal care brand Preppy, despite their marital woes.
He wrote on Instagram: 'Couldn't be more proud of this woman, 3 years ago you had a great idea and this week you got to make that idea a reality.
'Starting a brand is hard enough, but working hard and being committed to getting it done even with all the B******T I've dragged you through recently should be enough evidence that you'll make it a success.'
Penfold was left 'raging' and kicked the former Tottenham Hotspur star out of their bedroom at their £1 million family home when it was revealed he had sent explicit messages to two members of staff at the BBC.
Jenas confessed to lying to Penfold, who describes herself as a 'wife' and mother' in her Instagram bio, during a family holiday to Spain when he sneaked off to talk to his bosses about the messages.
The former England star admitted sending the texts but insists he has done nothing illegal.
He denied ever sending indecent images or videos and said the messages were between consenting adults, one of whom 'made it clear she was interested'.
However Jenas said he is 'ashamed' and 'deeply sorry' as he apologised for the scandal.
He revealed he was fired in an excruciating video call - while he was on a family holiday in Marbella, Spain, with his wife and their three children.
Jenas slammed this as 'grim', having to 'sit there and listen to what you've said' as four people on the Zoom call read out his inappropriate text messages.
He said he went on to lie to his wife after being informed of the allegations to 'find a way out of this mess'.
Ellie broke her silence on the scandal at the launch of her new personal care brand Preppy in November.
She said: 'My only focus has been on our children and building my brand Preppy. Now I just want to move forward.
'Naturally this has been hard for me but my only concern has been our children and that will not change.'
The news of Jenas' sacking came moments before he went live on air on talkSPORT radio. He returned to punditry work last month, saying on talkSPORT his conduct was 'wildly inappropriate'.
He continued: 'I made a mistake. It was a mistake that is something that me and my wife and my family have to deal with.
'I think that the big thing here is that your career is one thing. I worked 10 years post-retirement from being a footballer and I can take it as far back as I want from starting from nothing to becoming a footballer to getting myself in a very fortunate position to work on television.
'It's a lot of hard work that you put into the job, but at the same time, it can be taken away from you like that. That's one thing that I've recognised.
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