James Haskell went public with new Big Brother star girlfriend Sara McLean at Cheltenham Festival (Image: Tim Merry)
I’m a Celebrity star James Haskell and his new girlfriend Sara McLean are said to have split two days after going public. The duo stepped out together to watch the races on day two of the Cheltenham Festival on March 12, but have now reportedly put a pin in their relationship after the England rugby union pro was set on edge by photos of them holding hands.
“James isn’t really in the settling-down stage just yet. He wasn’t really ready to go public with Sara, to be honest,” a source claimed to The Sun of the reason behind their breakup. They added that after drinks started flowing the former couple got more “touchy feely,” and James “wasn’t thrilled” that they were snapped holding hands by the racecourse. A “lover’s tiff” reportedly followed, with the duo said to no longer be a couple as a result.
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James Haskell and Sara McLean are said to no longer be together just two days after going public at Cheltenham (Image: Tim Merry)
The source also claimed that James has had “interest” from other women – who were as unhappy as him with the shots of him sharing a tender moment with Big Brother star Sara.
“James is going through a tough divorce, so has been enjoying the best of London’s dating scene. He’s not necessarily ready to commit again to something serious straight away,” they said.
However, the insider noted that Sara and James were “still chatting loads” despite their falling out, and gushed that the duo had “real chemistry” – cryptically concluding: “They may well be back on again by next week.”
Prior to his romance with Sara, James was married to Richard and Judy’s daughter Chloe Madeley. The former couple tied the knot in 2018, and welcomed a daughter, Bodhi, in 2022 before calling it quits in 2023.
Even before Sara, however, James was romantically linked to advertising executive Helen Barclay, 34. This January, it was said that they’d become more serious after first meeting over a year prior.
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Despite having a ‘lover’s tiff,’ the insider suggested that James and Sara were still in touch, and could get back together in a matter of days (Image: Tim Merry)
A source said that James has ‘interest’ from other women, and was unhappy that he was photographed holding hands with Sara after ‘a couple of drinks’ (Image: Tim Merry)
It was claimed that the couple had been enjoying an increasing number of dates with each other, and also spent a lot of time at each other’s houses.
James and Helen were spotted at Knightsbridge restaurant Clap as they enjoyed a romantic date night, with the rugby star seemingly publicly hinting at the romance by commenting on mum-of-two Helen’s photos, even calling her “fit” as his flirtatious online antics became more daring.
At the time, it was said that Chloe was juggling complex feelings over James’ dating. “She was a bit shocked at first that James had moved on so quickly,” a source claimed.
The added: “She doesn’t want to be with James or to go back at all, she is over it, but it was a bit of a kick in the teeth for Chloe to see them together at first.”