Ex-football star, John Fashanu in divorce with wife over sleeping with maid
Bitter split: John Fashanu, 52, and
his wife Abigail, 48 have accused each other of cheating and he claims
she has violently attacked him on a number of occasions.
Former footballer John Fashanu is embroiled in a bitter split with his wife Abigail amid claims that she threatened him with knives after he slept with their maid.
The ex-Wimbledon player, 52, has filed for divorce, claiming his 'life was at stake' - and says it was in fact her who cheated on him - with another woman who she calls her 'spiritual partner,' reports dailymail.
Mrs Fashanu, 48, strenuously denies these allegations and says her ex-husband is 'sick and needs help'.
Fashanu, who also presented hit TV show Gladiators, wed Abigail in 2011 but their marriage hit the rocks last year.
While
she claims to have caught him undressed in bed with two women,
including the housemaid, he says he found her in bed with a female
friend.
Mrs Fashanu denies this - claiming the woman is just a friend who was living with her for a short period.
As
well as the allegations of cheating and threatening behaviour, the
father of five has accused his wife of stealing thousands of pounds in
cash from their marital home in Nigeria.
Speaking to Patrick Hill at The Sunday People, the former
star said: 'My life was at risk and I didn't want it to happen again. That's
why I filed for divorce.
Denying that he slept with the housemaid, he added: 'This is
me, John Fashanu, you're talking to. It's absolute nonsense. If she wants to
make up that story, at least let her say it's Beyoncé or someone.
'I've been very fortunate to date some of the most beautiful
women in the world. I certainly don't have to sleep with my cleaner!'
His heyday: The former footballer,
pictured playing for Wimbledon, has filed for divorce claiming his 'life
was at stake' - and says Abigail cheated on him with another woman who
she calls her 'spiritual partner'
Denies cheating: Claiming that he did
not sleep with the housemaid, Fashanu said: 'This is me, John Fashanu,
you're talking to. It's absolute nonsense'
Fashanu,
dubbed Fash the Bash for his tough reputation at Wimbledon, says his
wife attacked him on a number of occasions and that the violence became
too much to handle.
But
Abigail, the mother of former beauty queen Adaeze Yobo, has suggested
her estranged husband is deluded and says she does not take him
seriously
The
glamorous socialite, a qualified lawyer and mother-in-law to former
Nigerian football captain Joseph Yobo, paints a very different picture
of the split.
And she says that she is not angry with him - only with herself for ever agreeing to marry him in the first place.
The couple's bitter divorce is set to play out in the high court in Abuja, Nigeria.
Fashanu
says police are now investigating his allegations that his wife
attacked him and says officers are trying to retrieve more than £3,300
in stolen cash from her.
Speaking
to the Sunday People, he also claimed that she is obsessed with money,
admitted she probably couldn't stand the sight of him and expressed
regret at ever meeting her.
TV career: After retiring from football he hosted the popular 1990s TV show Gladiators for seven years alongside Ulrika Jonsson
Theft allegations: The father of five
(pictured presenting Gladiators) has also accused his wife of stealing
thousands of pounds in cash from their marital home in Nigeria
Fashanu, who is 6ft 2in, was born in London to a Guyanan nurse, Pearl, and Nigerian barrister, Patrick.
After they broke up he spent time in a Barnado's home and later lived with a foster family in Norfolk.
His
football career included spells at Aston Villa and Millwall - and he
won the FA cup with Wimbledon's Crazy Gang in 1988 two years after
joining the club.
That
same year he suffered heartbreak when his brother Justin, Britain's
first openly gay professional footballer, hanged himself in London.
After
the suicide, Fashanu expressed regret for disowning Justin because of
his homosexuality - but later claimed he did not believe Justin was
genuinely gay.
After retiring from football he hosted popular 1990s TV show Gladiators for seven years alongside Ulrika Jonsson.
He was also a contestant in ITV's I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here in 2003.
Fashanu's first marriage to Ivory Coast model Melissa Kassa-Mapsi ended in divorce in 2004.
He
regularly carries out charity work and is currently a UN Ambassador for
Nigeria, a former Unicef goodwill ambassador for 53 African countries
and a former board member of the Nigeria Football Association.
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