JAMES Haskell has suggested that his marriage to Chloe Madeley began to break down after they had a child.
The former professional rugby payer spoke out about his ex-wife who he split with shortly after filming an ITV documentary, Chloe Madeley: A Family Affair.
The series shone a spotlight on the couple clashing as they navigated life as new parents - but James has criticised ITV for casting him as a "villain".
about co-parenting Bodhi with his ex, James said: “Chloe is an amazing woman, extremely talented. She's made me a much better person being with her.
"Now we're separated. We did that essentially because you want to make sure your daughter has the best possible life.
"I think when you have a child, you have a responsibility and everything your other wishes go out the window.
"As you grow in relationships, marriage is a really interesting thing, because a lot of people change, elements change, careers change, and you kind of, the confines of it mean that everything else grows but it doesn't grow.
"So now the ability for us to co-parent is so important."
Host Mark Wogan said: "The other thing that a lot of people don't talk about, and they feel like they shouldn't, is how much your relationship changed when they were a child.
"That puts an enormous strain on any relationship."
James agreed, adding: "Of course. I think that's why it's interesting.
"We were very considered actually because we always looked at ourselves and were like, look, if you're lucky enough to have children, and you should never take that for granted, but there's a better time to have it. It's not a perfect time, it's not the right time, but there is a better time.
"When you're financially stable, sensible, a relationship you're working on.
“We want to make sure that our daughter has the best possible life."
After James revealed the divorce rate is "52 per cent and climbing", Mark added: "But 80 per cent of people who get divorced, if you ask them five years later, 'was it the right thing to do?', would say no.
"You two might end up back together."
James laughed: "I mean, who knows? Chloe, I learn stuff from her every day.
"She's incredibly beautiful, incredibly talented, incredibly good mum. And our life dynamic works really well. She supports me.”
However, reflecting on filming the documentary series, James said producers created a narrative to make him look like an absent dad.
“The thing about that was I was never meant to be in it. I never got paid to do it. It was something that Chloe got asked to do and then I sort of got halfway through, go, 'oh, I see there's the narratives being built here about being absentee or not being around or traveling or choosing music'.
"And it just wasn't true. I am most hands on dad, I do everything. There's no pink jobs, blue jobs, I'm onto everything."
