Was the writing on the wall for Linda Robson’s split? TV star admitted they hadn’t had sex for two years and she would never undress in front of him – before saying ‘enough is enough’

Linda Robson has confirmed that her 33 year marriage to her husband Mark Dunford is over after months of speculation over their relationship.

Earlier this year, the Loose Women star, 65, admitted she hadn’t had sex with her husband for two years – suggesting the writing may have been on the wall.

Linda also previously spoke about how she never undressed in front of Mark on the show, as she discussed her private life with the panel.

The comments have resurfaced following the news that Linda and Mark have split, which she confirmed during an interview with Woman magazine.

She discussed the topic in June earlier this year, when the Loose Women panel debated whether a ‘sex break’ can help struggling relationships.

Jumping into the conversation, Linda said: ‘Can I just say I’ve been celibate for two years?’ with Denise Welch responding: ‘I know, but you’ve got to get with the programme.’

Making a very cheeky confession, Linda quipped: ‘I know, you got me a lady friend,’ as their fellow panellists burst out laughing.

Charlene White questioned if the celibacy had helped her focus and given her clarity, and she responded: ‘Well I’ve had no choice, I’ve not had it for two years!’

Last year, Linda revealed she has never got undressed in front of her husband and goes into the bathroom to put on her pyjamas.

The TV presenter discussed her private life in an October 2022 episode of Loose Women and admitted her Catholic upbringing influenced her views on nudity.

Linda said: ‘I find it quite difficult, I’ve never underdressed in front of my husband so when I put my pyjamas on, I go in the bathroom.

‘My kids have seen my undressed but not my husband or former partners because my mum was Irish Catholic.’

Linda and Mark – who married in 1990 – live together in London but it was claimed recently that they have been having relationship difficulties. 

A source told The Sun on Sunday: ‘Linda has been quite open behind the scenes about problems in her marriage.

‘They hit a bit of a rough patch before Christmas but they’ve managed to work through it.

‘Linda turned to her family and close friends who supported her through it all.’

While Linda denied she was in the midst of a ‘marriage crisis’ she admitted that it hasn’t been plain sailing with her long-term love.

When asked about the crisis by The Sun she stated: ‘That’s a load of rubbish.

‘We’re still living together. We both love our kids more than anything else in the world, obviously you have a few hiccups in every marriage.

‘We’ve been married 33 years so it’s not going to be all plain sailing, but we’re still together at the moment.’

The actress recently spoke about going through ‘ups and downs’ in her relationship.

She told Best magazine: ‘There have been ups and downs, obviously, like any couple. What I think we have in common is that we love our kids more than anything.’

Linda revealed this week that she has split from husband Mark, confirming the news after months of rumoured marital woes, telling Woman magazine: ‘He’s a really good dad and we had some good years, but enough is enough.

‘I’ve got my family and my kids around me. And I’m going on a cruise with Lesley Joseph in November. I’m keeping busy. I feel fine. I’m just going away on trips all the time.

‘I’m not interested [in dating] honestly. I can’t be a***d with all that.’

The split is the latest in a slew of personal woes to have plagued Linda in recent years, with the mother-of-three speaking candidly about her struggles on her ITV show.

Back in 2018, Linda became dependent on alcohol after bring prescribed a drug which was meant to help with her depression – leading to three stints in rehab. 

Reflecting on the experience during a Loose Women episode, Linda explained: ‘I went through a really tough time, I was depressed and I turned to alcohol and had cleaning OCD.

‘I used to always have a glass of wine or spritzers in the evening, come 10 o’clock at night, but never in the daytime. And then I got put on medication that sent me a bit mad.

‘I got put on a certain drug which was supposed to help the depression but it didn’t it just heightened it, so I had to go into three different establishments and it was the worst time in my life, I completely ruined my family’s lives’.

Recalling one specific low point, Linda referenced a trip she was on with fellow Loose Women pals – in which she had to return home early from.

She explained: ‘We were in Ibiza and I broke down in front of all the girls, Stacey had to take me home and she took me into The Priory.’

‘I had really bad depression and was self-harming, I was cleaning everywhere I went and washing my sheets every night when I got home’.

She took a year off from Loose Women, making her grand return to the show in January 2020. 

Linda told her co-stars: ‘I was having a meltdown. I came off the wine, and I used to take a tablet to help me sleep every night. When I came off the wine, I upped the tablet, and then I got concerned about taking the tablet. 

‘So I went to see somebody about it and they gave me a tablet – I won’t mention the name but I had a really bad reaction to it, a proper meltdown. I got really bad anxiety, really bad depression, and my OCD kicked into overdrive.’

The dependency and outcome left her family seeking desperate measures when they sought to ‘find her someone to go’.

She went on: ‘Family found me somewhere to go, to help me, I went in this place for six weeks, went into it on so many tablets and left with even more, it was my doctor who said you’ve had the worse reaction to this medication I have ever seen…

On her terrifying ‘comedown’, she said: ‘Even that you have to come down slowly, took me a long time to get back to feeling normal.’

When asked if police were called to intervene in the midst of her problems, Linda went on: ‘Yeah they were called, because I was drinking…

‘They were locking me in because I couldn’t get out, I was shouting get me out, so police were called as they thought I was kidnapped… That was my family trying to keep me safe’.

Aside from her substance woes, Linda revealed she was taking ‘four baths’ each day as she suffered with her obsessive-compulsive disorder. She added: ‘At one point, I was having four baths a day, I was washing my bedding every day…

‘People joke when they hear someone saying about OCD they think it’d a bit of a joke or whatever, but it’s not actually a joke, it took over my life. I couldn’t clean everything enough.’

Commenting on her recovery, Linda noted there wasn’t a quick fix but she felt like she was ‘finally’ out the other side.

Linda previously explained her anxiety stems back to 2008, when her son Louis, now 31, had been out with friend Ben Kinsella the night Ben was stabbed and died at the scene.

Linda is also mother to two daughters Lauren, 40, and Roberta, 27 – and struggled with anxiety as well as OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder).

The Birds Of A Feather star has also spoken about her trust issues after a partner of 11-years cheated on her.

Prior to marrying Mark, Linda was in a relationship with Tony Tyler for 11 years and they welcomed daughter Lauren in 1983. 

Their relationship was plagued with woes, however, and she told the Loose Women audience in 2017: ‘I caught my ex several times cheating on me — even when I was pregnant with Lauren.

‘Once I was away and Lauren was away with me. When I got back, everything seemed fine in the flat. But when I went to go to bed that night, I moved the pillow and there was a tissue with lipstick on it, and long blonde hairs.’

Linda said: ‘I remember saying to my ex “what’s this?”, and he said “one of my friends stayed and her partner, it must be from her.” But you know when you know?’

She explained how she did her own detective work as she was determined to find out what was going on.

Linda said: ‘When I found out it was like a relief because you know then it’s over, you’re not going mad.’

The star continued: ‘I’d found letters, I followed him. I caught him with someone while I was pregnant with Lauren as well. I was waiting outside the house and he went into this girl’s house.’

In 1990 she married Mark and in 2017, Linda revealed she and Mark had a rough patch where they were on the brink of divorcing. 

She explained: ‘I love him. We’ve had a few tough years when we could have easily called it a day, but we didn’t.’

She revealed their troubles started when children Lauren and Louis were each subjected to traumatic events, which tested Linda and Mark’s marriage.

Things became testing when Lauren was diagnosed with bulimia and Louis with PTSD after he witnessed the murder of his friend.

‘People always said [Lauren] looked like Kate Moss,’ she said, first speaking of her daughter’s ordeal. ‘We went to the agency and they took loads of photographs but somebody said to her, ‘You need to lose a little bit of weight’.

‘I replied, “No, she doesn’t” and we walked out. It was ridiculous.’

It was after this incident that Linda noticed Lauren dropping weight, becoming dramatically thin, yet eating normally in front of her.

She deduced it was down to being bulimic, vomiting up the food she had eaten, and took her to seek help.

Lauren beat the condition after two years, when she was 19; but in 2008, more heartache ensued, when Ben Kinsella was stabbed to death.

Ben was a friend of Linda’s son Louis and was killed at the age of 16 when he was knifed 11 times while out celebrating the end of their GCSEs.

Louis saw Ben die in the street which led to PTSD and frequent severe panic attacks.

‘Louis is doing really well now. He’s really into his music and writing all the time,’ Linda said of her eldest son, who has, 10 years later, come out the other side.

Linda’s marriage was also tested when she lost her father due to lung cancer in 1997. He was just 57-years-old and died a week after diagnosis.

Her mother died in 2012, also from cancer, this time stomach, age 75, which Linda admits was traumatic but that she died peacefully and pain-free.

If you need confidential help with alcohol abuse call Alcoholic Anonymous free on 0800 9177 650 or email help@aamail.org

If you need confidential help with depression or mental health call Samaritans free 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org