Fern Britton's friend has broken her silence following pictures emerging of her kissing the star's ex-husband Phil Vickery.
Lorraine Stanton, 58, says her marriage is over and she has moved out of the family home she shares with husband Simon and their two children. She explains how her family is going through a 'tough time' but it is unrelated to the recent sighting of her exchanging a kiss with This Morning chef Phil.
Her husband Simon has also spoken out - claiming he does not know when he will have a chance to speak to his estranged wife about the recent snaps of her and Fern's ex-husband and revealing Lorraine has not be at their £1million country home in Windermere 'for a while.'
The estranged couple's comments come as Fern, 61, speaks out herself speaks about her ex-husband and friend being spotted together, two years on from their shock split - with the pair snapped looking very cosy as they kissed and embraced one another on the street during a recent outing in London.
Lorraine - who has known Fern, 65, for decades - carried a Fortnum & Mason bag as she leaned over a suitcase and an overnight bag for the kiss. An onlooker claimed the pair looked like "teenagers in love" during their romantic jaunt, and added how "that will be just so hurtful for Fern".
But despite reports the star feels 'weird and awkward' about the situation, it seems Fern is unbothered by the pictures of Fern and Lorraine looking close, tweeting on Friday morning at 10.05am: "Good morning all. Just to clear up any concerns re @TheSun front page. It is not true."
Breaking her silence on the images of her and Phil on Friday [September 30, Lorraine said: "It's a difficult time for me and the family. I don't actually live in the marital home anymore and it's got nothing to do with the latest incident over the pictures."
"We are going through a grieving period as a family, and I've also just lost my step father. My children are feeling very vulnerable, and they are very upset about the whole situation," she added when speaking to the MailOnline.
Lorraine didn't elaborate on when exactly she left her family home, and refused to address the pictures of her and Phil directly when speaking to the publication on Friday.
Fern and Lorraine appeared to be the best of friends prior to the pictures obtained by The Sun being published- often holidaying together and sharing snaps of each other across social media. Phil often interacted with his then-wife's friend on Twitter over the years - referring to her as 'Loz' several times and the pair seemingly both sharing an interest the coffee chain Costa.
Over the years, Phil would also chat to Lorraine on social media and join conversations between his then-wife and her pal. Lorraine's Twitter account is now set to private but based on Phil's replies it appears the two had a few inside jokes and were even pictured together at at the Cumbria Life Magazine Food & Drink Awards together in March 2020 - two months on from Phil and Fern announcing their split.
Like Phil, Lorraine appears to work in the food business, with her Twitter bio currently reading: "Hospitality through & through [smile emoji] To give & share a smile it’s so worthwhile." Her location is listed as the Lake District.
Fern and Phil announced their separation in January 2020 via a statement on Twitter which read: "After more than 20 happy years together, [we] have decided to go our separate ways. We will always share a great friendship and our lovely children.
"We would appreciate it if our privacy is respected at this time. Thank you for your continued kindness and support."
The former couple first struck up a romance in 1999 when they met on the set of Ready Steady Cook - one year on from Fern's split from TV executive Clive Jones.
The two stars share daughter, Winnie, 20, together from their time as a couple. Fern is also mum to Grace, 25, and twins Jack and Harry, 28, who she shares with her ex-husband Clive.
Earlier this year, Fern stated her life was 'bloody perfect' as she opened up about her single lifestyle and reflected on the end of her relationship with Phil.
"This new chapter has come at the right time for me. I don’t want to be the poster girl for separation, though, because a lot of people go through the same thing," she told Prima magazine in July.
The former This Morning presenter added: "Often, the children leave home and you look at each other and go, ‘Ah, where do we go from here?’ I only wish I was the sort of person who could have persevered through that, but I couldn’t."
Since splitting from Phil in 2020, Fern has been living in Cornwall after moving out of the family home in Buckinghamshire and focusing on her career with no plans to date anytime soon.
Ferne previously explained how her marriage with her ex-husband ended after one heartbreaking conversation.
She explained to Woman & Home magazine: "We simply needed to follow our own paths. Over time we realised we weren't necessarily having the kind of life we once did. It seemed right to say 'thank you' and move on.
"But we do have a good frienship. Phil and I had the greatest fun together and we have the most beautiful daughter together, Winnie.... as so we will always be connected."
Fern added: "Life has changed for me in the last 10 years, especially with my career. So it's lovely to think I can just concentrate on writing, the kids and getting on with life. This feels quite comfortable, and Phil and I knew it was the right thing to do."
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