Inside Richard Madeley and James Haskell's furious rows and name change battle

29 October 2023 , 11:42

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Inside Richard Madeley and James Haskell's furious rows and name change battle

Richard Madeley has enjoyed a few furious clashes with son-in-law James Haskell over the years, with the Good Morning Britain presenter even once telling the former rugby star to "f**k off".

James, who confirmed his split from Richard's daughter Chloe Madeley on Saturday, admitted at the start of this year that he threw out his father-in-law over the 2022 festive period in order to enjoy a "stress-free" Christmas dinner. The two men had a Boxing Day bust-up when they found themselves clashing over cooking.

Richard is thought to not be too impressed with James of late, with it claimed the TV star was planning to "have words" with his daughter's husband prior to Chloe and James announcing their split. In addition being spotted partying with women while working as a DJ, James was also pictured cosying up to a blonde woman earlier this month, who turned out to be a PR advisor.

Christmas was tense for the Madeley-Haskell clan last year (Instagram)

"Richard especially isn’t happy at all with the way James has been conducting himself – he’s going to be having words with him about his behaviour," a source claimed shortly before Chloe on Saturday that she and James split at the end of September. The insider added to The Sun: "As a father, he wants the best for his daughter and he won’t be afraid to make his feelings heard."

Speaking on This Morning in January, James lifted the lid on some family tensions and revealed his famous father-in-law has a bit of a tempter when cooking under stress. Speaking to the ITV show's presenters Andi Peters and Josie Gibson, James revealed he'd spent the Christmas period with his wife's family.

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"Christmas was good," James recalled. "This year he [Richard] wasn’t allowed to cook because first time I met him I got invited over on Boxing Day. I was told he can be a little bit tricky in the kitchen, don’t go in there. Of course that was a red rag to a bull, son-in-law wanting to make a good impression."

He continued to reveal he made anything but a good impression when disturbing Richard, recalling: "I went in there and gave him a bit of chat. He used one of those ‘f’ words and I quickly went back to my wife and said ‘I probably need to go, your father has just told me to go away’."

James and Chloe tied the knot in 2018, with Richard keen for his new son-in-law to became a Madeley rather than his daughter ditch her maiden name. Speaking on Loose Women in 2019, James revealed: "He tried to get me to be James Madeley. We did a show, I think that’s coming out in the summer with Dermot O’Leary, and he (Richard) made it Team Madeley and tried to call me James Madeley, and I was like, ‘It’s two Haskells and a Madeley!’. But he’s British TV heritage, so I just did as I was told."

James was very keen for his wife to become an official Haskell

Chloe touched on the name change rows earlier this year, admitting she was yet to legally change her surname to Haskell - something that made her "traditional husband" furious. Speaking on a podcast, the mum-of-one admitted: "He wants to feel like I've taken on his name and I'm proud of it and I wear it like a badge of honour. And there's an element of me that I really like being a maid lady like I wear. This is my badge of honour.

"So it feels it's quite bittersweet, you know, when I eventually go, I'm sure it will be lovely and we'll raise a glass of champagne. There's also like an element of sadness to it because I've always been a Madeley. Now my parents daughter. And that will be I think that'll be quite strange."

Both Chloe and James, who share daughter Bodhi together, sparked split speculation earlier this month as they were both spotted without their wedding rings. In a joint statement issued on Saturday night, the pair confirmed they had ended their romantic relationship.

The statement from Chloe read: "James and I mutually decided separate at the end of September, 2023. We had not planned on releasing a statement at this time - certainly not while the television show was airing - but constant speculation about our marriage has, unfortunately, forced our hand. Beyond this statement, we will not be speaking about this matter publicly, and we would request privacy at this time. Our sole focus now is our beautiful daughter. We shall continue to co-parent with nothing but love."

James later went on to share the same statement on social media, captioning a screenshot of the statement on Instagram: "It's with a lot of sadness I write this post, but unfortunately, in the world we live in, it has to be done. My priority is my daughter’s and Chloe’s happiness and security. For that reason, I won't be commenting any further."

Zoe Delaney