Jermaine Jenas' wife Ellie Penfold breaks silence on BBC star's sexting scandal

Jermaine Jenas' wife, Ellie Penfold, has spoken out about the "incredibly difficult" past few months following his sexting scandal. Making her first public appearance since Jermaine was dismissed by the BBC, Ellie was noticed without her wedding band.

The former Spurs player and Match Of The Day presenter had publicly apologised to Ellie and their three children after it came to light he had been sending flirtatious texts to other women. At the launch event for her beauty brand Preppy, Ellie told the Sun about the challenges faced by her and her family: "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."

She also spoke of her dedication to her venture, a project three years in the making, and acknowledged Jermaine's support: "Jermaine is excited for the business and what it holds for me in the future," she mentioned.

"He has been supportive of me in this respect and as a working mum."

Last September, following the uproar, 41 year old Jermaine expressed gratitude towards those offering him support; however, he was notably dropped from the BBC's presenting roster for shows like Match Of The Day and The One Show after complaints about workplace behaviour surfaced, reports the Mirror.

He had previously apologised to his former female colleagues for sending "inappropriate messages", but maintained they were "between two consenting adults" and that his actions were not illegal. In an Instagram video, Jermaine expressed his gratitude: "I just thought it was important for me to jump on here actually and just talk to you lot and say thank you for the level of support that you've shown me."

He reflected on his experiences, saying, "It's clearly been a difficult period for me but one I will definitely grow from. We're human beings, it is what it is, you'll learn from it. Become a better person. I think those are the things that are important in life. None of us are perfect and we've just got to find a way to just keep moving forward, look after our babies and our families in the best way we possibly can and that's something I will be trying to do."

After being dismissed in August, the BBC issued a statement regarding the allegations.

At the time, a spokesperson for the broadcaster stated: "We can confirm that he is no longer part of our presenting line up."

Before Gary Lineker's departure, he had been considered a potential candidate to take over as host of Match of the Day.