Why Vogue Williams Wants To Leave Her Marriage To Brian McFadden Firmly In The Past
Vogue Williams has built a successful television career, a popular podcast and a happy family life with Spencer Matthews — but one chapter of her past remains a subject she would reportedly prefer never to revisit.
The Irish presenter, 40, was previously married to former Westlife singer Brian McFadden. The couple tied the knot in 2012 before separating three years later, with their divorce finalised in 2017.
Although both have long since moved on, their former marriage occasionally returns to the headlines — something sources close to Vogue claim makes her deeply uncomfortable.
According to insiders, Vogue does not want to be defined as Brian’s former wife and has worked hard to establish an identity and career entirely separate from their relationship.
She has rarely spoken about him in recent years, instead focusing publicly on the life she has created with former Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews.
The couple, who met while appearing on Channel 4’s winter sports programme The Jump in 2017, are now expecting their fourth child. They already share Theodore, Gigi and Otto.
Vogue’s professional life has also flourished since her divorce.
She has appeared on numerous television programmes, including a Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special, and fronted documentary series for E4.
She is also one half of the award-winning podcast My Therapist Ghosted Me, which she presents alongside comedian Joanne McNally.
Sources say Vogue sees her earlier marriage as part of a difficult period when she was younger, less certain of herself and struggling to understand what she wanted from life.
The presenter has previously described the marriage as a mistake and has spoken openly about the emotional impact of the separation.
In her memoir Big Mouth, Vogue revealed that she felt anxious on the morning of her wedding and believed, deep down, that she was making the wrong decision.
She wrote that she attempted to make the relationship work after the ceremony and acknowledged that the couple had shared happy moments.
However, she also said Brian was not the right person for her as a husband and that she eventually reached a point where she could no longer continue trying to save the marriage.
Vogue has stressed that she does not want to place all the blame on one person, although she suggested that certain events within the relationship could not be forgiven.
The aftermath of the split was particularly painful.
She has previously revealed that she experienced severe anxiety, sleepless nights and feelings of nausea as she adjusted to the end of the marriage.
At the time, Vogue also worried that she might never have the opportunity to become a mother.
Her life today could scarcely be more different.
Alongside her successful media career, she is raising a growing family with Spencer and has become part of a wider social circle that includes members of Britain’s best-known families.
Spencer’s brother James Matthews is married to Pippa Middleton, the younger sister of Catherine, Princess of Wales.
However, those close to Vogue insist her reluctance to discuss Brian has less to do with her current lifestyle and more to do with protecting herself from a painful emotional period she has already worked hard to overcome.
One source claimed she feels detached from the younger version of herself who entered that relationship and no longer recognises the person she was at the time.
They said Vogue considers the matter closed and sees little value in repeatedly revisiting a relationship that ended more than a decade ago.
The subject reportedly became awkward when Spencer’s friend and former Made In Chelsea co-star Jamie Laing mentioned Brian during a podcast discussion.
Sources claimed Vogue was unhappy that her former husband’s name had been brought up as though he remained connected to her current life.
She is said to have made it clear that she did not want the subject raised again.
Vogue and Brian are not believed to have spoken for more than a decade.
Brian has also acknowledged that they no longer have contact.
Speaking in 2018, the singer said there was little reason for them to remain in touch after Vogue had remarried and begun building a family with Spencer.
He wished his former wife happiness and spoke positively about her new husband.
Brian has since moved on with Danielle Parkinson, a former PE teacher and lifestyle blogger.
The couple welcomed their daughter Ruby in 2021 and married in a beach ceremony in Cornwall in July 2025.
While the former spouses appear to have independently found happiness, public fascination with their short-lived marriage has never entirely disappeared.
For Vogue, however, the story appears to belong firmly to another lifetime.
She has acknowledged the relationship, reflected on the lessons it taught her and spoken honestly about the damage caused by its ending.
But those close to her say she has no desire to remain emotionally connected to it.
Her priorities are now her children, her marriage to Spencer and the career she has built in her own name.
Rather than attempting to erase history, Vogue appears determined not to allow one painful period to overshadow everything she has achieved since.
For her, the marriage is not an unfinished story waiting to be reopened.
It is a chapter she has read, understood and finally left behind.
