Shamed former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys marries his daughter’s 35-year-old boyfriend in Devon
Shamed football pundit Richard Keys has secretly tied the knot with his daughter’s boyfriend after previously denying falling in love with the young lawyer while his wife was battling cancer.
The former Sky Sports News presenter, 66, married Lucie Rose, 34, in a quiet £20,000 ceremony attended by just a few close family and friends, including his 35-year-old daughter Jemma.
The couple split after 36 years of marriage after news of his affair came out in 2016, with his ex-wife Julia revealing how the affair was ‘devastating’ her world while recovering from thyroid cancer and also ruining the lives of their two children.
Julia said the affair ruined her Hollyoaks actress daughter’s career as she spiraled into alcoholism and depression. Jemma also faced legal action over a series of abusive text messages she sent to Lucie before the charges were dropped by prosecutors.
Keys – who was sacked in disgrace from his £500,000-a-year job fronting Sky’s Premier League coverage in 2011 after making disparaging comments about female referee Sian Massey-Ellis – proposed to Lucie two years ago.
Covid postponed the wedding several times, but last weekend they finally exchanged their vows in an open-air civil ceremony at Kingswear near Brixham, Devon under a cobalt blue sky and a blazing sun.
Richard Keys married Lucie Rose, a friend of his daughter Jemma, last weekend in a ceremony in Kingswear, Devon
Lucie Rose, 34, (right) is pictured with Richard Keys’ daughter Jemma, 35, who was previously one of her best friends until it emerged she was having an affair with her father
Lucie, 35, married Keys, 66, on Saturday. The former Sky Sports presenter had previously denied having an affair with her
Keys (center) pictured with his ex-wife Julia (left) and their daughter Jemma (right)
An invitation seen by MailOnline reveals how the pair booked accommodation for guests at the Marina Hotel, Dartmouth and they boarded a ferry to take guests across the river to the venue.
It added: ‘Dartmouth, Kingswear and Brixham have a range of other accommodation options and Lucie, as we all know Dickie is useless at this, would be happy to provide others if anyone needs help.’
Under the dress code caption, it adds, “We don’t want to get in the way of your style and flair, so we don’t tell anyone what to wear other than just be absolutely fabulous darlings.”
There were pre-wedding drinks at the Dart Marina Hotel ahead of Saturday’s ceremony, while the ceremony itself started at 1pm and was followed by ‘a day of food and fun’.
The marriage ended on Sunday with a post-wedding hair of the dog party at a venue that was yet to be confirmed and arranged by a local wedding planner named Rebecca Marie, a friend of Lucie’s.
Photos posted to social media show Keys in a silver-gray suit opposite Lucie wearing a white bridal gown and holding a bouquet of white roses.
A friend of Lucie’s wrote next to the photo: ‘Non stop love for the past few days’, with a heart emoji.
Other guests included Key’s sister Susan and friends from BeInsports, based in Qatar, where he now teams up with former footballer and fellow pundit Andy Gray.
A friend of Lucie’s described the wedding saying there had been “non-stop love for the past few days”
Keys is said to have met Lucie when he lived in Doha, Qatar, where he worked for a sports broadcaster
The couple wed in a quiet £20,000 ceremony attended by just a few close family and friends at this clifftop location in Devon
In September 2016, it emerged that Julia Keys had filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery amid allegations that her husband was having an affair with Lucie.
The pair were reportedly introduced by a mutual acquaintance on the expatriate social circuit in Doha, the capital of Qatar, where Keys worked as a presenter for TV network BeIN Sports.
It was reported at the time that Julia, a psychotherapist, felt her husband had “run out of chances” after she assisted him following his dismissal from Sky Sports.
Keys and co-presenter Andy Gray made offensive comments off-air about Premier League official Massey, claiming she did not know the offside rule.
In another studio interview, which was filmed but not aired, Keys expert Jamie Redknapp asked about an ex-girlfriend and said, “Did you break it?” what does “have you had sex with her?”
Keys had previously denied the affair with Lucie The athletic in 2019: ‘I call the unspeakable for you. Did I let my wife fight cancer? No.
‘I do not know what happened. I don’t know why our marriage ended like this, but my wife had been battling cancer for seven years before I left her and she had been in remission for seven years.
“She and I went to London every day of her fight, ahead of groundbreaking surgery that put her into a period of recovery.
Keys with his ex-wife Julia (right) and daughter Jemma (left) at the 2004 HMV Football Extravaganza in London
Julia (seen with Keys in 2006) previously wrote about the emotional impact of her husband’s affair
“Julia had been in remission for seven years. I know how hard it was for her when things went wrong.
“I wasn’t about to engage in a tit-for-tat, he-said, she-said, respond to everything that was said about me.
“If people believe that I eloped with my wife while battling cancer with a friend of my daughter. I can’t change that now.
“Tell a lie twice and it becomes the truth. Tell it on social media and it will haunt you forever. I didn’t fall in love with a friend of my daughter’s.’
In April 2018, Julia wrote about her husband’s affair in her book The MANScript, saying, “Richard’s affair destroyed not only my world, but the world of our children Jemma and Josh.
Only now, two years later, has he admitted to having an affair with Lucie, as well as his deception and the damage it has done.
She also told The Sun: ‘He met Jemma’s friend Lucie, who was working in Doha, and the lies started. He claimed that she and her friends considered him their “Doha daddy.”
“I remember at Richard’s birthday party, just as I was leaving, Lucie grabbed my arm and said, ‘Are you leaving now Julia?’ She was so persistent, and I thought it was strange – when Richard had been coming home for ages.
“When I questioned him, he said Lucie should talk to him because she had a problem. I’m not bitter towards Lucie, just deeply disappointed that she was able to destroy our family in this way.’
Lucie pictured in a photo shared on social media
Richard Keys (right) now presents a football program in Qatar after they were sacked from Sky Sports over a row over sexism
Keys still lives in Doha, where he fronts the company’s football coverage alongside former Sky Sports colleague Gray.
In 2018, Jemma shared how her mother discovered WhatsApp messages from Lucie on his phone while they were on holiday in St Ives.
“I heard Mum yell, ‘Your dad is having an affair,'” Jemma told the Daily Mail. ‘My heart stopped. Then I asked, “With whom?” ‘
In the midst of her pain, Jemma began bombarding Lucie with abusive and threatening late night text messages referring to her as “the nastiest sl**” and a “Qatar w****”.
One ominously warned, “I’m watching your every move. You don’t know what’s coming.’
Jemma has since said she was in a state of “alcoholic blackout” when she sent them — and would never have done it sober.
She was dramatically arrested in a morning police raid and says three officers in body armor threw her into a police van in her pajamas.
She faced an improper trial in the full media spotlight and a possible six-month prison sentence.
But despite being charged with harassment and appearing before magistrates, she was spared the embarrassment of a full trial when the Public Prosecutor’s Office (CPS) dropped the case.