Richard Keys breaks silence on leaving wife for daughter's friend who is 31 years younger

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Former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys has slammed persistent claims about his relationship with wife Lucie. The pair tied the knot in 2023 following his divorce from ex-partner Julia a decade ago.

Keys became a familiar face to football fans through his work with Sky Sports , notably fronting the broadcaster’s coverage when the Premier League began in 1992. He was well known for his on-screen partnership with Andy Gray but left Sky Sports after sexist comments made off air emerged. The duo later reunited at BeIN Sports, where they have worked for the last 13 years.

However, Keys has regularly been subjected to online comments about his personal life. The experienced broadcaster was married to Julia for 34 years before she filed for divorce in 2016 due to his alleged affair. Given that his spouse had previously been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, Keys was heavily criticised on social media.

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He also faced claims that his new partner Lucie, who is 31 years younger than Keys, had been his daughter’s best friend. While he admits that Lucie and his daughter, Jemma, had spent time socialising together in Qatar , Keys dismissed the narrative surrounding their relationship.

“What’s damaging is that people presume I ran away with my daughter’s best mate, locked her in a room, and gave her no choice about whether she wanted to be with me or not,” he told The Telegraph . “All of which is nonsense.

“Lucie’s one of the most powerful, strong-minded individuals you’ll come across. She’s deeply passionate about women’s rights. People see me as an easy target, but the narrative is not fair on her. It’s totally wrong.”

He added: “I never expected my marriage would end after 34 years, but Lucie bowled into my life and, wow, what a force of nature. And the rest is history.”

Keys met Lucie, who is a lawyer, at a golf event in Qatar. She was working for the Qatar Investment Authority at the time. His decision to leave Julia was criticised as his wife had stood by him during his controversial departure from Sky Sports in 2011.

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However, the sports presenter has dismissed claims that his wife was ill when they separated. Instead, Keys chose not to discuss Julia’s health as he wanted to maintain privacy.

He explained to The Telegraph: “I’ve never sat with anybody and talked about this, but I didn’t leave Julia dying of cancer, or suffering with cancer. Sadly, she had cancer in 2008 and ’09, and we ran into a genius surgeon who removed it.”

It has been announced that Keys and Gray are set to leave BeIN Sports at the end of this season. He recently returned to England after leaving Qatar following Iranian drone attacks.