Ian Wright's lonely childhood and affair regrets before finding 'perfect' woman
Former footballer Ian Wright is among the famous faces being recognised in the King's first Birthday Honours list.
The TV presenter and former England player was made an OBE in the honours announced today.
His professional career began with Crystal Palace when he was 22 and he went on to play for Arsenal, West Ham United, Nottingham Forest, Celtic, Burnley, and England.
Since retiring from football in 2000, Ian has worked as a TV and radio presenter, being a guest host on shows such as Top of the Pops, Gladiators, and They Think It's All Over. He's also appeared on I'm A Celeb.
And as well as having a rather eventful career on and off the pitch, he's also had an eventful personal life over the years.
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The former footballer is included in the King's Birthday Honours (Getty Images)Ian claims he felt quite lonely as a child and it's fair to say he had quite a troubled time, with an absent father, a bullying step-dad and a heavy-drinking mother.
Talking to The Mirror in 2019, he told how he was desperate for affection from his mother, Nesta.
"I can't remember ever being hugged. I just felt really, really alone," he said.
"All I thought about was much I hated being in my house, how much I hated my sister and aunt, I hated my step-dad, and how my mum never showed anything."
Determined to be a better father to his own children, he started seeing a counsellor who taught him to "channel" his rage.
The 59-year-old has eight children by four different women.
Ian says he wanted more affection from mum Nesta (right) (PA Archive/PA Images)He was just 19 when he first became a dad after adopting girlfriend Sharon Phillips' son Shaun.
Afraid of his own 6ft 2in stepdad - who was an abusive gambler and drinker - Ian said his experiences left him feeling duty-bound to adopt the tot, who like his dad is now a footballer.
"I didnt have a job, and no means, but I took him on because it was the right thing to do," he told The Mirror
Son Bradley, also a footballer, arrived soon after followed by Brett, making Ian a father of three at just 21.
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His relationship with Sharon didn't last though and at 22 he reconnected with a childhood friend named Debbie, who'd lived down the road from him in south east London when they were six.
She was to become the first Mrs Wright and as his football career took off, they celebrated their marriage with a luxury wedding in Mauritius and moved into an idyllic surrey mansion.
Their son Stacey was born in 1994 but three years later Debbie's world came crashing down when it emereged Ian had been having an affair with a woman he met through his TV work.
Heartbroken, Debbie kicked Ian out of the house and refused to take his pleading phone calls.
Debbie and Ian with their son Stacey (PA Archive/PA Images)
Ian feels guilt over the heartache he caused Debbie (PA Archive/PA Images)But, as she wanted her son to have two parents, she agreed to give her husband another chance and soon after they welcomed a daughter, Bobbi-Lee.
However, the heartache was far from over.
"Perhaps naively, I also thought he would never do it again. Sadly, that wasn't the case," she told the Daily Mail in 2008, revealing how she learned he'd fathered another child during another fling - a little girl named Coco born in 2006.
"I'll make no secret of the fact our marriage was already in trouble - like I said, can any couple really survive such a public betrayal - but I was devastated to find out this time, his fling had more serious repercussions. This time there was no recovery," she said.
For Ian, he admitted he'd gotten caught up in the culture of instant gratification that is so often attached to footballers' lives.
"It was while I was playing for Arsenal and everything was going so well for me that I got a bit carried away with myself because of all the attention I was getting, the money I was being paid and having so many people all over me," he wrote in his book, admitting he doesn't see Coco.
"I got caught up in all of that and cheated on first wife, Debbie, which destroyed my marriage. That was a really horrible period.
"If there's ever been a time in my life I wish I could change, that would be it."
Shaun and Bradley Wright-Phillips (PA)Meanwhile, Cupid's arrow struck again when Ian met his 'perfect woman' and second wife Nancy Hallam in a pub.
"My missus didn't know anything about football," he revealed while on I'm A Celeb.
"I met her in a pub in Notting Hill, it was the biggest kind of mugging off in respect of meeting someone. I'm not saying I'm Brad Pitt but she mugged me off so beautifully I knew she was the one."
They married in 2011 and had daughters Lola and Roxanne, but their union sparked a major family rift with Ian admitting he hasn't spoken to his sister for 15 years after an argument over Nancy.
Ian said his row with Dionne, known as Dee, came when she and Nancy both joined him on set for a Channel 4 programme and he told his sister not to "make a f***ing scene".
"Nancy went to introduce herself and she totally blanked her in front of people, saying something about, 'I have to be true to my niece and nephew,'" he told the True Geordie podcast.
"This happened when I was in the green room. When I went over to her I could feel the anger from my toes. I said, 'As long as we live I don't want to ever see you again. The only time I will speak to you is when you apologise to her.'
"And she said, 'I am not apologising to anyone.' So I said, 'That is good because I will never have to see you again.'"
Nancy didn't know anything about football when they met (Getty Images Europe)
Ian previously played for Arsenal and England (Bob Thomas/Getty Images)But despite the negativity, in Nancy, he has found The One. And amid his happiness, he also carries a deep regret for the hurt he's caused previously.
"I didn't experience an enormous amount of love from my mum when I was a child, so I've had to learn what it is, and learn how to be happy and at peace," he said, apologising for how he treated women before.
"I've put other people through horrible experiences along the way. If people think that's selfish, then I'm really sorry," he continued.
"Nancy's the perfect woman and I can't stand to be apart from her and our daughters.
"My love for them is unconditional and my upbringing means I have a lot of love to give now."
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