Anne Robinson's wild love life - £20m divorce to 'dating Queen's ex-husband'
Former Weakest Link presenter Anne Robinson is secretly dating Queen Camilla's ex-husband, Andrew Parker Bowles - and the consort approves, according to new reports.
The television star, 79, has allegedly been having a secret relationship with the Queen's former spouse, 83, for the last year but has been determined to fly under the radar for as long as possible. Anne has been married twice before to two journalists - with her second divorce reportedly setting her back £20million.
Over the years, Anne has spoken candidly about her long-running battle with booze and struggles with TV success - both of which came at the expense of her two marriages. But, the broadcaster has managed to turn her life around since going teetotal in 1987, and has remained one of the UK's most enduring stars.
Marriage troubles
Anne's first husband Charlie Wilson was her boss when their romance sparked (2007 © Elliott Franks)A pioneering young news reporter, Anne began her journalistic career at the Daily Mail, becoming its first female trainee reporter. Navigating Fleet Street in the 1970s, she was known for her hard-hitting scoops - and hard drinking. According to the Guardian, on one occasion she arrived at a pub wearing nothing but high heels, before pouring a pint of beer over her boyfriend's head, then climbing onto his car and attacking the windscreen with her shoe.
During her time at the Mail, she met Charlie Wilson, who was then her boss. After falling in love, the couple married in 1968 - but Anne was then forced to leave the paper as married couples weren't allowed to work together. In 1970 they had their first daughter, Emma, and Anne began working at The Sunday Times. By now, however, her drinking was starting to spiral out of control. An interviewee reportedly claimed that she had interviewed them drunk and she was later sacked by the paper after failing to file a story on time.
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Anne's alcohol addiction was also getting in the way of her marriage. According to The Times, she would wake up on a Sunday morning and drink gin while she looked after Emma at home. "By my mid-30s, I got to the point where I probably had about six weeks to live," she told the Mail. "I suffered from a really bad drink problem and my weight dropped down to about six stone." As the relationship crumbled, Anne and Wilson filed for divorce, entering a fierce custody battle over Emma.
In a gruelling court hearing, her colleagues testified against her and Charlie was granted full custody in 1973. Reflecting on the marriage, Anne said she had also been reluctant to play the doting wife. "There was him who expected a wife, and there was me who had never seen my ma behave as a wife. She was a breadwinner," she told The Times. "So we both came to a bit of a halt. No one was getting what they expected."
£20million divorce
Determined to confront her drinking problem, Anne went teetotal in 1978 and joined Alcoholics Anonymous. During the custody battle, she had begun to date John Penrose, a fellow reporter, whom she married in 1980. Over the coming decades, the journalist forged a career in television, taking over as presenter of Watchdog in 1993, before finding a new level of fame as the acid-tongued host of The Weakest Link.
The show sparked a spin-off in the US, which she flew over to host - but Anne says her new jet-setting lifestyle put a strain on her marriage. "No mother puts her son on her knee and teaches him what to do when he grows up and marries someone who earns more money and might even be smarter than him," she told the Daily Mail. "There are few happy husbands under those circumstances, and I am astonished that Penrose and I got as far as we did."
By now, Anne was one of the most recognisable faces on British TV and had racked up an estimated £60million fortune. Increasingly separated from John, however, the pair divorced in 2008 - forcing her to fork out £20million. She was, however, allowed to keep her sizeable property portfolio - which included a London townhouse, a penthouse in New York, a Long Island mansion and a cottage in Gloucestershire.
Despite the break-up, she remained friends with John and admitted the split after decades together took its toll. "It was like having a car crash every day once we parted," she told the Mail. "I was taken aback, since I'd decided it was what I wanted. I didn't expect it to be quite so emotional, so that really took me by surprise. You delude yourself. I think we were both very sad. We'd have to have hearts of stone not to. You just feel quite low. You feel quite joyless for a bit for no good reason."
Single and sexy
Anne remained coy on her love life for years after her split from John - though admitted in 2017 that she didn't quite get on with dating apps. Speaking to The Sun, she said: "I wouldn't date any of the men on Tinder. I deleted it and wouldn't even know how to get the account back. I don't want to date someone bald and with a moustache. It is slim pickings out there! I would rename Tinder 'desperate'."'
However, she added that she still enjoys an active sex life - and that age is no barrier. "I hope all women my age are having sex, why wouldn't they be? It's what keeps me young," she said. She spent lockdown at her Cotswolds home with Emma, Emma's husband Liam Kan, and their sons, Hudson, and Parker - and jokes she has an 'I hate my husband' suite in the kitchen. Nonetheless, she told the Mail she still remains on good terms with her exes despite their costly splits, saying: "Why not? They are both nice people."
Royal romance
Anne is reportedly secretly dating Queen Camilla's ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles (Getty Images)Anne reportedly met the consort's ex-husband Andrew through a mutual friend, and despite their differing upbringings, quickly hit it off. Andrew, who used to be in the military, has also swooned the TV presenter with his culinary talents, according to a source. "Annie remains fiercely independent and while she has staff, who regularly whip up meals for the pair, she's been impressed with Andrew's own cooking skills. The Brigadier and the Queen of Mean does have a certain ring to it - but there's no chance of them living together as she's far too self-sufficient," an insider told the Sun.
As for Anne's relationship with Andrew, it's understood that the pair "get on splendidly" despite the fact they come from completely different backgrounds. "Annie proudly tells everyone she is the daughter of a market trader chicken-seller and is as far removed from a toff as could be - frankly it beats any storyline The Crown could possibly come up with," the source added. "She makes him laugh, a lot, and he is one of the few people to get away with poking fun at her."
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