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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Emma Wilson

Chantelle Houghton still texts ex Preston and insists split 'wasn’t a failed marriage'

Chantelle Houghton said she still keeps in touch with her ex-husband Preston and insists their split "wasn’t a failed marriage".

The star met Ordinary Boys frontman Samuel Preston during Celebrity Big Brother in 2006, and after a whirlwind romance they left the house and wed.

They split just 10 months later, but have remained on good terms with Chantelle inviting Preston to her wedding to fiancé Michael Strutt before they called it off.

The 38-year-old updated fans on her relationship with her ex-husband, revealing they regularly keep in touch and still have a lot of love for each other.

Chantelle wed Preston in 2006, but they sadly split 10 months later (REX)

Almost 15 years on, Chantelle confirmed that she and Preston "will always be friends" when she was quizzed on whether or not the pair were still in touch.

“We text every few months or something like that. We’ll always be friends.

"We’ve got such special memories together and have inside jokes no one else would get,” she told new magazine.

The couple reunited in 2020 and revealed they're still on good terms (NEW/LORNA ROACH)

Chantelle said the former couple also still have the same connection they had more than 15 years ago, and added: “I don’t look at it as a failed marriage because I was 21 and we were in a crazy world back then.”

She said their union didn’t feel like a “real-life marriage”, but she gave hope to a possible reconciliation between her and Preston as she said she would “love to do it again”.

Chantelle said their marriage was “completely real”, and she loved the rocker “wholeheartedly”.

Chantelle split from Michael in January last year (Instagram)
She said she's now happy to stay single until she meets 'The One' (Getty Images)

The TV star suffered heartache again last year, as she and fiancé Michael called off their engagement and parted ways, but Chantelle is still a hopeless romantic and would love to get married again one day.

The former model, who shares daughter Dolly with ex Alex Reid, said she gorged on takeaways to cure her heartbreak following the split, but after shedding two stone, she’s realised she wants to be alone for a while.

She told the magazine she’d “rather be alone for the next five years” in order to meet her soulmate, than “being miserable” with someone who isn’t right for her.

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