Jermaine Jenas was dramatically sacked from his £190,000 job at the BBC on Thursday for inappropriate behaviour, but the presenter insisted ‘there’s two sides’ to the story
BBC poster boy Jermaine Jenas was dramatically sacked on Thursday for inappropriate behaviour.
The news of his sacking was announced as he started presenting a three-hour drive-time programme on talkSPORT radio with fellow former footballer Jermaine Pennant. Jermaine is “not longer part” of The One Show’s presenting line-up.
He has also been dropped from his punditry and presenting duties on Match of the Day, Match of the Day 2 and Radio 5 Live. Jermaine joined The One Show back in 2020 as a stand-in for Matt Baker alongside Ronan Keating before permanently joining the presenting line-up a year later.
Off the screen, Jermaine lives with his wife Ellie Penfold, who he married in 2011, and their three children, two daughters Geneva and Olivia, and a baby son Jacob. They live in a £1million house in Hertfordshire.
Jermaine also has an older daughter Sancha, 16, from a previous relationship who lives in America with her mother. Just a year before his sacking on Thursday, Jermaine revealed his new presenting roles had led to arguments with his wife.
The former footballer admitted his wife struggled with the amount of time he spent socialising after filming for the BBC. He said: “I would say up until about five years ago it was quite stressful for us both.
“There was a lot of competing going on in our relationship and a lot of ‘you get to do this’ or ‘you don’t do this. It was a lot to do with the kids and the fact that I had this new career starting and I was out and about and meeting new people and going to shows… it was all glitzy but for my wife it was like nappies, milk… I am a very hands-on dad and I’m always trying to help but still she wasn’t getting that fulfilment in her own life.
“I had to address it and over the last five years I always say to her once or twice or year just go away for three days or something. In the summer and coming up now she will usual go to Ibiza with her mates and have a good blowout and that’s for her not to have to wake up or think about the kids, and I’ve just come back from Scotland playing three days of golf and she will say the same to me, go and play golf, relax, enjoy yourself.”
Jermaine regularly praises his wife on social media and shared a sweet tribute earlier this year for her birthday. Sharing a snap of his wife on holiday this May, he wrote: “Happy birthday Mrs J, I love you more than you could ever imagine. You deserve the world.”
The former Spurs midfielder previously revealed the secret to their marriage was learning to communicate “before the crisis hit” and the couple resist “game playing” in favour of a peaceful household.
BBC News announced on Thursday that his contract had been terminated earlier this week due to alleged issues with Jermaine’s workplace behaviour. It’s reported the sacking followed allegations involving digital communications.
Speaking to a talkSPORT reporter on Thursday evening, Jermaine said: “I can’t really talk about it. As you can probably see, I’m not happy about it. But currently as it stands I’m going to have to let the lawyers deal with it.
“There’s two sides… that’s all I can say now.” He added: “I’m not happy about this situation. I’m going to be speaking to my lawyers about it, is all I can say right now.”
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