A look at Richard Keys’ former wife Julia and their children as presenter responds to cheating allegations

Before Richard Keys heads off on his honeymoon with his newlywed wife Lucie Rose, a lawyer 32 years his junior, the disgraced sports presenter decided to hit back at reports surrounding his relationship and the manner in which it started.

The former Sky Sports pundit, who resigned from the £500,000-a year position after off air clips revealed Keys and his co-presenter Andy Gray making derogatory comments about assistant referee Sian Massey, took to his blog RichardAJKeys to ‘address some of the inaccuracies’ reported.

Following the Devon ceremony, Richard responded to statements that he not only had an affair with his now-wife Lucie Rose while his first wife was battling thyroid cancer but also that his spouse was his daughter Jemma’s best friend.

Richard said: “My goodness - for someone that the Press have wanted cancelled for a long time now there’s an awful lot of interest in me and my wife today.

“When my first marriage collapsed my wife was not suffering with cancer. She’d been seven years in remission after a dreadful scare - one she managed with dignity and bravery. And I was with her every step of the way. She is still very much alive and well…”

Richard was married to Julia Keys for 36 years before the latter filed for divorce in 2016 on grounds of alleged adultery stating the affair had ‘wrecked’ the relationship between Richard and his children.

In response to this, Richard added on his blog that his children then aged 28 and 32 respectively had not been impacted by the break-up before commenting on his daughter’s career and health.

Who is Richard Keys’ first wife Julia?

Julia Keys, a psychotherapist, was married to Richard Keys from 1982 to 2016 and lived with him and their two children Jemma and Joshua in both the UK and Qatar when the family moved out for Richard’s job in beIN Sports.

Julia has been suffering from thyroid cancer for several years, first undergoing an operation on her neck in 2009 when a tumour was found.

In addition to working as a psychotherapist, Julia has written a book called ‘The MANScript’ which detailed her side of the story concerning Richard’s alleged affair with Lucie Rose.

Who are Richard Keys’ children and what have they said about the 'affair'?

Richard and Julia welcomed two children during their marriage - Jemma in 1985 and Joshua in 1989.

Their eldest child Jemma worked as an actress appearing in Hollyoaks as Stacey Foxx from April 2004 to July 2005 as well as having credits in productions such as Dream Team and Hollywood Lives.

According to Richard, Jemma only met Lucie Rose twice however when her father’s relationship came to light, Jemma reportedly sent a string of abusive messages to the lawyer and was subsequently charged with harassment.

While Jemma faced six months in prison and a public court case, the Crown Prosecution Service ultimately dropped the charges and the actress confessed at the time:

“It was 18 months down the line from finding out about the affair – which was the most awful betrayal – and I'd hit the lowest, darkest point of my alcohol addiction. I thought Lucie was my friend. I was devastated, distraught and angry. Of course, I can't justify what I did. But I felt like my father had been stolen from me...and the affair genuinely destroyed my family.”

As for Richard’s son Joshua, who also did not attend his father’s second wedding, he currently lives over the pond in America as he works as an assistant producer.