For years, Lisa Armstrong showed nothing but loyalty. Whenever her personal assistant Anne-Marie Corbett’s daughters celebrated a birthday, Lisa sent expensive gifts. At Christmas, she did the same—carefully choosing presents for Poppy and Daisy, who were then still at primary school.

Ant McPartlin cradles his new son in a photo on Instagram in which he also displayed his family tree tattoo featuring the names of his wife and her two daughters

It was her way of thanking Anne-Marie for supporting her and her husband, Ant McPartlin. Lisa treated Anne-Marie like family—taking her on holiday, showering her with kindness, and trusting her with her private world.

Yet today, the same woman she once considered a close friend is Ant’s wife… and the mother of his first child.

Pregnant Anne-Marie Corbett and Ant on a date night in central London last month

This week, Ant announced the birth of his baby son, Wilder Patrick, unveiling a black-and-white Instagram photo cradling the newborn. On his shoulder was a family-tree tattoo—featuring not only Anne-Marie’s nickname, “Amzie,” but also the names of Poppy and Daisy.

For Lisa, aged 47, the blow was brutal. She remains childless, and those closest to her say the reminder has left her devastated.

A friend confided:

“She gave Ant everything, and at the end of it all, she has an empty crib. Seeing that tattoo… announcing it like that… it cut her deeply.”

Ant and Lisa Armstrong, pictured in 2015, were childless when they filed for divorce in 2018 after 11 years of marriage

Worse still, Lisa only discovered Anne-Marie was pregnant when she read about it in the press. “It feels like he was rubbing her face in it,” says the friend.

Adding to the heartbreak, Lisa claims privately that Anne-Marie and Ant grew close before the marriage ended.

“They were together while we were still married, and we argued when I asked her to leave.”

Lisa later found love with former partner James Green. He ended their relationship last year

Her sense of betrayal is compounded by the fact that she supported Ant through his darkest years—his alcohol addiction, prescription drug struggles, depression, and his high-profile drink-driving incident.

According to a close friend:

“Lisa spent years trying to save him. She begged him to get help. She stayed through hell.”

Lisa shared a cryptic post on the same day that her ex-husband Ant revealed the happy news that he had become a father

Throughout their 23-year relationship, the couple tried desperately to have children. In a candid 2013 interview, Ant said:

“Lisa and I would love to have kids. We’re trying. It’s tougher when you get a bit older.”

But it never happened—something social media trolls cruelly blamed on her. Friends insist Lisa had no fertility problems, but the pain lingered.

They met in 1994, married in 2006 at Cliveden House, and appeared to have built a fairytale. Behind the scenes, she endured the chaos of his addictions, fearing for his life and their marriage.

The affair rumours erupted in 2018. Soon after, Ant and Anne-Marie’s relationship was confirmed. In 2021, they married in a celebrity-filled ceremony attended by Holly Willoughby, Phillip Schofield, Davina McCall, Jamie Redknapp, and more.

Lisa tried to move on—finding love with electrician James Green—only to have that relationship end last year. She now lives alone, her former marital home placed on the market for £4 million.

Friends say:

“People talk about the money she got. But emotionally? It destroyed her.”

Even now, every milestone in Ant’s life drags her back: his wedding, his baby, his tattoo. She has confessed to friends she was once the second most Googled woman in Britain—after Meghan Markle.

This week, as congratulations poured in for Ant, Lisa fled to Portugal. Hours before his announcement, she posted a cryptic message about “silent battles” and “wiping her own tears.”

Her dog, Hurley—their shared pet adopted after realising they would not be parents—remains her greatest comfort.

As a friend says:

“If anything keeps her going, it’s him.”

Emotionally battered, childless, betrayed by the woman she once called a friend, and watching the life she fought for become someone else’s—Lisa’s story is one of loyalty, loss, and heartbreak.

And though she rarely speaks publicly, those close to her believe one truth remains:

The real reason was him.

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/