Following a heated argument in the middle of a restaurant, Martin Clunes’ ex-wife has described the moment they both realized their marriage is over.
The relationship between Lucy Aston and The Men Behaving Badly and Doc Martin actor abruptly ended in 1990 after a particularly vile remark made during a dramatic confrontation. Initial impressions of the couple were peaceful during their first year of marriage, but tensions escalated as Lucy’s health food business resume grew.
When they first met, they were both “party animals”, but as she started focusing on training to become a crisis counsellor, tensions reportedly rose between the pair. According to Lucy, Martin called her “dull and boring” as she swapped their nights out for studying.
The breaking point came when he attended a party alone, later claiming he had “forgotten” to invite her. The following evening, an argument erupted at their favourite Chinese restaurant, with Martin allegedly telling his former wife: “You are an embarrassment”.
After the outburst, Lucy finally accepted that their marriage was over after three short years and that she could no longer go back. In April 1997, she told The Mirror: “He told me I was boring and different and I just thought: ‘ No more. ‘ I leaned up and said, “Thanks for dinner, this is the end,” before running away. I felt rage in the backseat.
When I returned, I noticed Martin was seated nearby, surrounded by take-out containers stuffed with our meal. He simply looked at me. I slammed my gold wedding ring against the table before leaving.
“We both knew it was over. When I learned that he had attended a party without telling me, I was furious. Even worse, he claimed to be going out with only a few male actor friends. He made out what he had told me, but the truth is that he simply didn’t want me there. I became embarrassing to him, which is sad.
When Lucy returned from a drive on her own, she realized there was no saving the relationship. They discussed their future, both expressing their desire to end their relationship. “We just looked at each other and said ‘ Bye, then'”, explained Lucy.
After the split, Lucy spent ten weeks in America, where Martin’s ex-wife Philippa Braithwaite is now dating. “It was a bombshell when he told me he was with Philippa”, said Lucy.
In 1997, Martin and Lucy split, and he wed Philippa while Lucy was expecting and starting a new relationship. Martin, who was at the time, gave his own account of the marriage’s demise, saying, “We used to have a problem of enjoying each other, but now I can enjoy Lucy once more. We are close friends and have mutual respect.
However, in September 2008 he stated their marriage was “rotten” in a scathing interview in the Mail’s Weekend magazine. He said: “I don’t know if I was searching for anything. Maybe I was. I kind of found it without looking. I had a bad marriage before meeting Philippa, and I was very against the idea of getting married again.
Lucy responded to Lucy’s criticism by saying, “I want Martin to stop telling everyone what a failure it was and what an awful time he had.” In truth, I was the one who had a terrible time. Martin will always be my love, but he needs to accept responsibility for our marriage’s demise rather than to constantly denounce it in public.
Martin and Philippa tied the knot in 1997 at the Savoy hotel in London with a small ceremony and afterparty. After having daughter Emily in 1998, they later moved to Dorset to lead a quieter life.
Source: Mirror
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