Helen Skelton admits dates with ex-husband Richie Myler stopped a year before their public split

Helen Skelton and her ex-husband Richie Myler stopped going on dates and spending time together a year before they announced the end of their relationship.

The Strictly Come Dancing star, 39, and the Leeds Rhinos rugby player separated in April, just four months after welcoming their third child together.

Speaking to The Mirror last year, Helen admitted they were “staying out of each other’s way” rather than being in the house together.

The BBC presenter explained that they would have meals together but didn’t go on dates and had to look “after the kids in shifts” due to their busy schedules.

Having been married for eight years, she said: “You appreciate the other in this situation. I don’t think he’ll ever say again, ‘What do you do with the kids all day?’.

“Sometimes I would get in from work and he’d be that husband that would look at the kitchen and say, ‘How is this still a mess when she’s been off all day?’.

"Now he’s done it he’s like, ‘How does she stay sane?’."

Helen said that her young children, who are now 7 and 5, were “terrible sleepers” and would stay up late, which prevented the couple from having alone time together in the evening.

At the time of the interview, last year, Helen and Richie had been taking it in turns to work on the house they had been renovating near their family home in Yorkshire - which meant even more time apart.

However, following the split, Helen and their three children - Ernie, Louise and Elsie - have recently moved back to Cumbria, where her parents live.

Richie is now in a relationship with Stephanie Thirkill, 32, whose dad is Leeds Rhinos president Andrew Thirkill.

The pair announced that they are expecting a baby together, the same day Helen had to make a live appearance on Strictly Come Dancing.