KATIE HIND: Lisa Armstrong longed for a baby with Ant. But she discovered via MailOnline that he was having a child with his new wife Anne-Marie Colbert. Here, her friends describe her 'two years of hell' in heartbreaking detail…

The news came just a few days after Christmas. At first, Lisa Armstrong could half-convince herself that it was just another gossip: after all, that had been enough in the five years since she split from her former husband, the TV presenter Ant McPartlin.

Like millions of others, Lisa, a make-up artist who was with the troubled TV golden boy for 23 years, read the story on Mail Online.

But it couldn't be true, could it? Surely Ant, her former soulmate whom she had fallen in love with when they were both teenagers, wouldn't be so cruel?

But looking at the photos of Ant, 48, and his new wife, former assistant Anne-Marie Corbett, 46, happily strolling around with the paparazzi and fellow holidaymakers at Heathrow Airport, on their way back from Dubai after a spot of winter sun, Lisa gradually came to realize that he probably could.

Rumors had been circulating for weeks that Ant and Anne-Marie were expecting their first child together, and judging by Anne-Marie's curvier figure and tellingly loose-fitting sweater, it looked like this chatter might be true.

This week, those rumors were confirmed when friends of the couple announced they were “extremely happy” they were expecting a baby in June.

But for Lisa, who had desperately wanted a baby with Ant for years and had supported him through his struggles with alcohol, depression and an addiction to prescription drugs, this was almost certainly the most devastating part of her divorce. .

“It's extremely heartbreaking and hurtful to Lisa that, after everything Ant has done to her, he didn't let her know he was expecting a baby,” a close friend told me.

'Ant didn't even have the decency to inform Lisa about this. Like the rest of the world, she had to read about it in the news and you can only imagine what a shock that must have been for her.

“For someone you've shared so much with, it's hard to tell you something they knew full well was going to be a huge story in the press.

'It's a terrible shame that Lisa had to find out like this. You can imagine how hard that would hit her. It's heartbreaking.'

Lisa is known for being discreet – despite refusing to sign the non-disclosure agreement Ant wanted her to sign – so we can only guess how much shock and betrayal she must have felt. Especially since she and Ant had so desperately hoped to become parents themselves for so many years.

In 2013, shortly before his showbiz partner Declan Donnelly met wife Ali Astall, Ant revealed how he and Lisa had fertility problems, saying: 'There's a rumor going around that I'm waiting to have children until Dec finds himself Mrs Right. I like that idea, but I'm afraid it's not true.

'Lisa and I really want children. Tried. When you get older, it's harder than you think.'

Sadly, this was never to be and once they turned forty, they accepted that they were not meant to have a family and instead had their beloved chocolate Labrador, Hurley – who Lisa calls her 'baby boy'.

The friend told the Mail: 'Lisa had spent her entire adult life with Ant. It was all she knew and they had really hoped to have children. Lisa didn't expect Ant to go ahead and have a baby, so it really hit her hard.

'She has been through so much with him and given him so much, but it is she who will be childless for the rest of her life, not Ant.

“It's something you never get over.”

As if the situation couldn't get any more difficult for Lisa, she and Anne-Marie were once friends. Anne-Marie was Ant's personal assistant and spent a lot of time at the McPartlins' home in West London.

Friends of Lisa – the hugely successful head of make-up on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing – say she was 'very nice' to Anne-Marie. She worked at Ant's talent agency YMU, and Lisa and Ant wanted to make her feel 'at home' at her job.

Anne-Marie divorced her husband Scott, with whom she has two daughters, in October 2017, shortly before Ant and Lisa's marriage fell apart.

The divorce was difficult for Lisa, friends say, not least because she suddenly found herself in the awkward position of the world scrutinizing her marriage and private life, despite never asking for fame.

When their divorce was finalized in 2018 – which reportedly led to a multi-million payout for Lisa – a friend tells me there was a time when she was the second most Googled woman in Britain, behind only Meghan Markle.

The investigation became even more stringent when Anne-Marie was spotted walking with Hurley in April 2018 – a cruel blow for Lisa.

Soon after, Anne-Marie and Ant were photographed together, and their status as a couple was confirmed in 2019 when she joined him in Australia – along with her children – where he was hosting I'm A Celeb.

They tied the knot in August 2021 in a star-studded wedding at the five-star Heckfield Place in Hampshire.

That Ant still longed for children was even evident from his groom's speech when he said that Anne-Marie's now teenage daughters call him 'Daddy'.

“The relationship between Ant and Anne-Marie came out of nowhere for her,” says an employee of Lisa. 'In retrospect, things started to change. There were times when Anne-Marie even seemed to dress like Lisa, but she didn't expect them to get together.

'The thought of her now having Ant's baby is a lot to think about. Lisa tries her hardest to keep herself to herself, but she's been through so much in their 23 years together.”

Ant and Lisa met almost 30 years ago, when they were 18 and 19, and on the music circuit.

Lisa was in a band called Deuce at the time, while Ant and Dec were making careers as pop duo PJ and Duncan – their characters from Byker Grove, the children's TV drama.

They hit it off immediately and soon their romance became public. And despite not exactly making a big hit, Lisa's band became one of the most written about women in Britain.

She then moved in with Ant at his home next door to Dec in Chiswick, west London, and was by the star's side as he went on to become one of half of the country's best-loved entertainment acts.

The couple married in the summer of 2006 at Cliveden House, near Maidenhead, Berkshire, with Dec acting as best man.

However, somewhere along the line, things started to unravel for the couple as Ant battled various addictions and demons.

He had initially started taking legally prescribed painkillers after a serious knee injury in 2014 and a botched operation the following year. However, over time, his dependency on the drugs, along with alcohol, began to spiral out of control.

It was a torrid time for Lisa. At the time, she confided to friends that she had fought for 'two hellish years' to keep her husband Ant on track. A friend tells me: 'Lisa went through hell the last two years she and Ant were together.

She wasn't sure if her marriage would survive, but she supported him in an attempt to save him. It's been so hard for her.

'Ant had been in such bad shape that she often feared the situation was untenable.'

Friends said Lisa had begged her husband to seek professional help and begged him not to leave their home if he wanted to start drinking.

'It was a very difficult time for Lisa, it took a very long time. She loved him very much and wanted to make him better, but she was open with her friends and didn't see how the marriage could survive.

But she made her vows and she won't give them up. Lisa has done a lot for Ant. She did pretty much everything she could to help, but it went on and on.

“It was the hardest thing for her to give in and admit that the marriage was over. She is an amazing woman who was determined to save her husband. She's so brave.'

In 2017, Ant finally sought help and went to a rehabilitation center. But it was too late for their marriage. Six months later, in March 2018, Ant's life hit a new low when he was arrested and charged with drink-driving after his Mini collided with two other cars in west London.

Ant, who was reportedly earning £130,000 a week at the time, was fined £86,000 and banned from driving for 20 months after pleading guilty to drink driving.

He said he was 'really sorry' for driving more than twice the legal limit.

Witnesses described how his black Mini collided with another Mini Cooper before driving straight into an oncoming BMW, with a doctor and her nine-year-old son on board.

Although no one was seriously injured, the driver of the other Mini was said to be in 'deep shock' and believed he could have been killed in the accident.

Ant later withdrew from hosting ITV reality series I'm A Celebrity alongside Dec in Australia, making way for Holly Willoughby to take over temporarily.

Although Lisa, despite being given numerous opportunities to tell her side of the story, remains silent on the matter, their split remains acrimonious – and lingering. He may have two new dogs, Maltipoos (maltese-poodle crossbreeds), named Milo and Bumble, but Ant still doesn't want to give Lisa Hurley full-time.

The couple agreed to share the dog after their marriage collapsed, but Lisa wants Hurley to live alone with her. However, it is clear that Ant is refusing to give up shared custody.

Currently, the dog spends half its time at Ant's £6million mansion in Wimbledon, South West London, and the other half at Lisa's West London home, with the TV presenter's driver reportedly doing the handover, so the exes don't have to see each other. other.

A make-up artist friend added: 'Lisa is one of the strongest women you can imagine, but a few years ago there were cracks showing and she wasn't quite herself.

'It was clear at the time that there were issues that were getting her into trouble, but she didn't want to give up on Ant.

“She's been to hell and back the last few years. We all just wanted to pick her up and give her a big hug.”

If there was ever a time when Lisa needed one, it's now.