Inside Richard Madeley’s love life – from ’10 affairs’ to meeting Judy

Richard Madeley has been a regular on our TV screens for decades, having fronted shows including This Morning and now being one of the presenters of Good Morning Britain.

The 67 year old, who has opened up about an unpleasant encounter he had with an angry GMB viewer, rose to fame alongside his wife, Judy Finnigan, 75, with the duo fronting their own chat show, Richard & Judy, alongside other TV projects. Judy has since stepped away from television work.

While he's best known as one half of Richard and Judy, GMB presenter Richard was actually married to somebody else when he met his now-wife.

Richard was 21 when he wed his first wife Lynda Hooley in 1977, with the pair's marriage lasting just five years after Richard struggled to remain faithful.

He previously spoke about his infidelity, admitting that during his six-year romance with Lynda he had affairs with "about 10" women. He told the Mirror: "Oh lots, numerous, probably in the space of about five years, about 10."

Richard also added: "Although the marriage had some very happy moments, there was a lot of negativity in it. I'm not using that as an excuse. It's wrong to have affairs, but I was a very young man."

Richard and Lynda eventually parted ways and eventually divorced in 1983.

Richard met Judy in 1982 when he joined Granada to present alongside Tony Wilson and Judy. At the time, both of them were married – Judy to David Henshaw and Richard to his first wife Lynda.

Despite them both being hitched to other people, it appears they formed a connection instantly. Judy previously said of their first meeting: "I remember the first time I saw him. He walked into the newsroom and I was sitting at my desk at the other end."

She went on to tell the Mirror: "I remember exactly what he was wearing: a pale blue linen suit. I thought he looked nice. Tall, handsome and all that but I thought the suit was a bit flash. Then, because he was a newbie, I was assigned the job of looking after him."

Discussing the very early days of their relationship, Richard previously said: "[Colleagues at Granada] thought it was frivolous but it wasn't anything of the kind. It was actually very painful because we were very much in love but it was very difficult."

Eventually, the couple began a relationship but Judy was still uncertain about her new love due to being mum to twin boys Dan and Tom, who were six years old at the time. It took her around a year to be sure about the romance, as she had to be "absolutely convinced" Richard was mature enough.

Judy divorced her first husband David in 1986. She admitted the pair experienced "lots of problems" and had disagreed on the possibility of having more children

She told the Daily Mail: "There were lots of problems, but without Richard we'd have probably struggled on for a few more years and broken up when the kids were older. He didn't spend much time in the marital home and he didn't want more children, which I did."

Richard and Judy tied the knot in 1986 in Manchester and went on to welcome their first child, Jack, later that same year, followed by their daughter Chloe, who was born in 1987.

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