Retired England striker Emile Heskey splits from wife after more than 20 years together

Emile Heskey, the former Liverpool and England striker, has separated from his wife Chantelle after more than 20 years together and is currently going through a divorce, the Manchester Evening News has confirmed.

The couple, who married in 2014 at Rookery Hall in Cheshire in a ceremony attended by numerous football figures, had kept the split quiet until recent weeks, when Heskey began appearing publicly alongside former Miss Blackpool Jade Slusarczyk. The pair were photographed together on the red carpet at the Ricky Hatton tribute event at Manchester’s AO Arena in June, arriving hand in hand, and have since shared further posts together on social media.

A friend of Chantelle’s confirmed the timeline of events to the MEN. “Their marriage has been over for a while, but not many people know — they have kept it very quiet,” the friend said. “But now that Emile appears to have gone public with his new girlfriend it’s been quite difficult for Chantelle, as lots of people have been messaging her asking what’s going on.”

The friend added that the couple had “grown apart” in recent years due to work commitments. Neither Emile, 48, nor Chantelle, 43, has made a public statement about the separation.

Heskey earned 62 England caps between 1999 and 2010, forming a well-known partnership with Michael Owen at international level. He scored for England against Denmark at the 2002 World Cup and was part of Liverpool’s FA Cup-winning squad in 2001, also representing Leicester City, Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic during his club career.

Jade Slusarczyk, 40, was previously in a relationship with snooker world champion Jimmy White, with whom she had been linked since 2018.