Davina McCall's traumatic divorce

5 January 2020

Davina McCall has admitted her divorce was "traumatic".

Davina McCall

The 'Masked Singer' judge split from Matthew Robertson - the father of her children Holly, 18, Tilly, 16, and Chester, 13 - in November 2017 and although their separation involved "absolute emotional turmoil" for everyone, she believes they made the right decision.

She told You magazine: "Going through a divorce is a traumatic experience and it is something that needs to be navigated as carefully as possible.

"Two years on, we have both grown as people and we can now co-parent happily and acknowledge that it was the right thing for us to go through even though it involved absolute emotional turmoil."

The 52-year-old presenter has been dating hairdresser Michael Douglas, an old friend, for nearly a year but doesn't like to talk about their relationship out of respect for Matthew.

She told You magazine: "I will never sit here and go into great details. And the reason for that is all down to respect. I have a huge amount of respect for Matthew, I have respect for my children and the same goes for Michael's family...

"It would not be right in any way for me to talk about my relationship - it would not be fair at all on any party. No one else involved is in the public eye so it would be even worse for me to drag them in.

"I am always conscious of being completely mindful. If I go to an event with Michael, we arrive separately to avoid any photos. This is just something that I try to keep as private as possible. It's complicated."

Davina has spoken candidly about her own struggles with addiction and is happy to be open with her kids, though she doesn't want to "smother" them.

She said: "I want to raise independent kids. I don't want to smother them. I understand they need to have their own experiences and learn by their own mistakes. But I talk to them about mine and my experiences... all the drugs I have taken, what effect they had.

"I ask questions about the drugs that are around now because it's a totally different landscape - I'm terrified by ketamine. My kids are very savvy and I trust them, and because I've talked so openly about my experiences none of them has experimented with drugs."