Why Lisa Armstrong can’t escape her Ant McPartlin nightmare

Seven years after their split, insiders say Lisa Armstrong is still haunted by her ex, Ant McPartlin

Taking to social media earlier this month to share a humorous video posted by an American zoo which jokingly offered to name piles of their elephant dung after ‘your c**t’ ex-partners, sources say Lisa Armstrong is still plagued by issues over her ex-husband, Ant McPartlin.

Lisa, 48, and Ant, 49, separated in 2018 after 11 years of marriage. And while Lisa has moved on with her life – going on to date electrician James Green, who she split from in 2023 – sources say the Strictly make-up artist still feels ‘stuck’ and unable to move forward.

Ant McPartlin and Lisa Armstrong on their wedding day in 2006 ©IMAGO

An insider says, ‘She will tell her friends that she’s moved on from it all one day, and then the next she will be sharing some post online that makes it seem like she’s still feeling quite bitter about it all.

‘The truth is she has good days and bad days. It’s not been easy getting herself back into the dating world, and sometimes it feels impossible to learn to trust someone again, which naturally makes her feel some anger towards Ant.

‘The biggest problem has been her trying to offload the home they shared together.’

Lisa Armstrong ©IMAGO

Lisa, who shares custody of beloved pet Labrador, Hurley, with Ant, was forced to remove the £2.6m marital home she shared with her ex-husband from the market last month after reducing the price by £250,000 last August in an attempt to find a buyer.

The London mansion was on the market for just under a year and had been rented out until 2023, when an electrical fire, in which nobody was hurt, ravaged her former home, causing a reported £1 million in damage.

And now the source says that while Lisa wants to protect her financial assets, she can’t help but feel ‘haunted’ by the memories of the home she and Ant once shared, while he has happily moved on with her former friend and their PA, Anne-Marie Corbett.

Ant McPartlin and Anne-Marie Corbett ©IMAGO

Ant and Anne-Marie married in 2021 and welcomed son Wilder in 2024 – years after Lisa opened up about her and Ant’s emotional fertility battle.

Our source says, ‘The house holds so many memories for Lisa, a lot of good, but also a lot of bad. She still feels haunted by the past and is desperate for a fresh start. But she has to think of her future and her finances. She can’t allow herself to be ripped off just because of how she is feeling emotionally.

‘Her friends feel as if she’s torturing herself by hanging on to it and have told her it could be the last piece of the puzzle stopping her from moving on.’