Cancer-stricken wife of disgraced football pundit Richard Keys hits out at his affair with daughter’s friend, who is HALF his age
Julia Keys says she is 'extremely hurt' by the affair and says her cheating hubby has begged her not to divorce him
THE wife of shamed football pundit Richard Keys has blasted him for having an affair with their daughter’s friend.
Football presenter Keys, 59, has been ditched by his cancer-stricken wife of 34 years after she learned about his lover Lucie Rose, who is half his age.
Presenter Keys started his fling with the 27-year-old lawyer while working in Qatar — despite moving wife Julia out to a luxurious villa in the Middle Eastern country.
Julia, 56, blasted her ex for the affair which occurred as she has been battling thyroid cancer.
She told The Sun on Sunday: “I’m extremely hurt. It’s really hard for me at the moment and I’m reeling from it all.
“It’s disgusting what Richard and Lucie have put me through, knowing about my condition. It’s not only me but also my son Joshua and my daughter.
“Yes, I do blame Lucie because I thought she was our friend out there. He’s due to come back to this country at some point, I’m not sure when.”
Julia is now staying with her son Joshua, 27, in Ascot, Berks. She found out about the affair with Lucie, a lawyer for city firm Baker & McKenzie, in May.
Lucie is known for her partying and met the Keys on the Qatar social scene through their actress daughter Jemma, 32.
Lucie had worked for the Qatar Investment Authority for almost two years before returning to the UK where she lives with her sister in a flat in Hackney, east London.
RELATED STORIES
Julia said Keys, who resigned from his £500,000-a-year Sky Sports job in 2011 after sexist comments, has begged her not to divorce him after she instigated proceedings.
Last night she appeared to be getting over the split as she attended a ball at Wentworth Gold Club in a sequinned dress.
Keys is now the face of the BeIN sports channels and has a lucrative contract until the end of the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
Yesterday he tweeted: “I expected a mixed bag of reaction — thanks for the support. There are many inaccuracies in the reports.”
Lucie’s mum Anne Rose, of Brixham, Devon, said her daughter would not want to comment.
KEYS FACES LASHES
RICHARD Keys could be jailed for up to 15 years or sentenced to lashes if he is proven to have committed adultery with Lucie Rose.
Sex outside marriage is illegal in the Islamic country and the law states the same penalty will be meted out to a woman “who accepts such copulation knowing it is prohibited”.
Miss Rose is already back in the UK but Keys is thought to still be living at his Doha villa — so could still face questioning by police.