Ant McPartlin’s new girlfriend Anne-Marie Corbett has denied ever being pals with his estranged wife Lisa Armstrong.
The 42-year-old TV presenter was recently revealed to have started a new relationship with Anne-Marie following his split from his wife in 2017, but she is bemused by Lisa’s accusations of betrayal, insisting they were never friends and even claiming to have been sacked by her.
A source close to Ant explained: "Anne-Marie is really upset at the way Lisa is trying to portray them as great friends.
"It’s really unfair – she’s trying to make out this is some sort of betrayal, but that just isn’t the case.
"She hated working for Lisa and they didn’t get on well at all. They often clashed. In the end Lisa sacked her. That’s hardly the actions of someone’s ‘best mate’."
Although Anne-Marie has been tight-lipped about the situation, the personal assistant is said to be angered by Lisa’s outspoken comments.
The insider told The Sun newspaper: "Anne-Marie’s biting her tongue, but she’s hurt and angry by the way this is playing out from Lisa’s end."
Meanwhile, a friend of the couple told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "It’s time Ant is allowed to live his life.
"It’s been 10 months now – everyone needs to move on…"
By contrast, Lisa recently admitted on Twitter that she feels betrayed by Anne-Marie, whose relationship with Ant is still in its early stages.
In response to a supportive message posted online by reality star Nicola McLean, Lisa wrote: "And to think she was MY friend!!! (sic)"
Lisa – who learned of Ant’s new romance while browsing the internet – expressed her upset by posting two broken hearts on her Twitter account.
One tweeter said to Lisa: "If it’s true I would have hoped out of respect to you that he didn’t let you find out from the media…you deserve better than that! Let the tears flow, talk about how much it hurts & let your family & friends support you. It won’t feel like it now but you will get through this x (sic)"
And she replied: "Nope. Just how you guys did x [broken heart emoji] (sic)"