BRITAIN’S Got Talent star Francine Lewis is renewing her wedding vows three years after revealing husband’s texts to another woman live on TV.
The popular impressionist, 49, was heartbroken when she discovered spouse Joel’s messages, but now credits it with saving their relationship and reigniting passion between them.
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They’re currently planning to travel abroad to Italy or New York in May to renew their vows for their 20th wedding anniversary, which she calls a “massive achievement”, and are having a “second wind”.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, mum-of-two Francine said: “We renewed our vows after five years and it was really, really lovely. I’d love to do it on a beach somewhere.
“We’re actually planning either Italy, or we both would love to go to New York.”
Francine was determined to make things work for their son Jake, 18, and daughter Brooke, 22, remembering how she felt when her parents broke up.
READ MORE ON FRANCINE LEWIS
“So many marriages nowadays, unfortunately, don’t last that long,” she says. “I think people do give up a little bit too quickly.”
“I come from a broken home, so I know exactly how that feels as a child, going through that. I think in my head, I always felt if I could have a long-lasting marriage, that would be amazing, for my children to be able to just not have to go through what me and my sister went through.
“But obviously, if you’re not happy, you should get out, you shouldn’t be there for the wrong reasons. I’m in my marriage because I want to be in my marriage, there’s still so much love, we still do fancy each other, we still have all of that, but we did go through a complacent time. And I think anyone in a long relationship would relate to that.”
Looking back at their relationship struggles, Kardashians and Towie fan Francine partly blames herself for the spark dying out and can now see how she and Joel had drifted into living separate lives.
She says: “I might sit upstairs watching my reality rubbish telly, and he’ll be downstairs watching something else. We didn’t talk enough, we didn’t communicate enough. I was just doing my job, he was doing his. I think we just went through that dark kind of place in a way where we’d bicker a lot, we’d be arguing.
“I guess that’s when you’re going to go through times where it’s not going to be great, and it’s either make or break. Kids are getting older, and I think when the kids get older, it makes you think, ‘oh, what am I going to do when they go to uni or they leave home’, and then you’re left with this person.”
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Both Francine and Joel had honest discussions after the messages came to light and have worked hard to get back on track.
Fitness-loving Francine felt reinvigorated after throwing herself into an intense bootcamp where she cut out sugar and worked out for six hours a day and says her libido was through the roof once she returned home.
The age-defying comic, who credits exercise, laughter and her Middle-Eastern genes with keeping her young, has kept up the workouts since and hits the gym four to five times a week and uses a personal trainer.
“It just kick-started the whole thing again,” she says. “It was like he became the man that I met all those years ago and it’s just been amazing. He’s treated me like he did at the beginning and we’ve just, we’ve been having date nights.
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“A lot of that was my fault because of the children. I never used to want to leave the children.
They’d always come with us wherever we went. That’s what I wanted to do. You know, they came first, and they still come first, but I guess he really got pushed to the back and now I make sure I have time with him as well.
“So we make sure we have date nights and nights away, and he’ll just come home with flowers, not because it’s our anniversary or my birthday, because he wants to. Little changes have been made for me as well.”
PUBLIC SUPPORT
When she opened up about her relationship on GB News, Francine had no idea the amount of attention it would receive.
She was overwhelmed by the support she had from viewers, many who related to the situation she found herself in.
“It was very comforting for me,” says Francine. “I will say that when I spoke out, it wasn’t a planned thing. It came out, naturally, I just got the news the day before.
“I didn’t want to cancel my TV appearance, because I’m a professional, and I’m going to go on no matter what. The fact I was talking about my family, it kind of just came out, because I felt angry at that moment.
“I didn’t ever expect the storm it created. I’ve never spoken to the press, or gone on Twitter or Instagram to talk about my relationship, or my personal, intimate details.
“I kind of criticised people for it, people would have an argument with their husband, or their kids, or whatever, and they’ll go on to social media and say, this has just happened. I think, why are you airing dirty washing? I was one of those.”
She continues: “I did that, but not intentionally. I have no regrets about doing it, because it was such comfort to hear what people have gone through. It kind of made my situation so minor, and it was nice that people felt I was real as well, because I’ve never done anything like that.
“People just knew me as Francine, who makes us laugh, and does some impressions to make us smile, and now we’re seeing another side to Francine, and that was good.”
Francine is now fully focused on her career and later this year will release a memoir in which she looks back on her early career, getting her big break on The Big Big Talent Show, which was hosted by Jonathan Ross in the late 90s, as well as her post-BGT stardom after she reached the final in 2013.
“I have had a very colourful life,” she says. “It’s not been perfect, but I think that makes who you are today. I think sometimes it’s not great to have a perfect life, it makes you stronger going through stuff when you’re young, but anyway, it’s gonna be amazing.”
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