Jay Blades Just days before his wife left, he had hinted that their marriage was in turmoil.
repair shop The star’s 18-month marriage to Lisa Zbojen, 44, ended this week with his fitness instructor wife saying it had got ‘worse and worse’.
The 54-year-old furniture restorer suggested earlier this week that there were problems in his life as he revealed in an interview that he is ‘going through some things at the moment.’
Blades has yet to comment publicly about the breakdown of his marriage, as he is undergoing therapy and off social media following the death of his uncle.
Lisa posted an emotional statement on social media indicating she had ended her marriage and was no longer living with Blades at their home, which adjoins a huge country estate.
Jay Blades had hinted that his marriage was in turmoil just days before his wife left (pictured here during an episode of BBC’s The Repair Shop).
The Repair Shop star’s 18-month marriage to Lisa Zbojen (right), 44, ended this week with his fitness instructor wife saying it had got ‘worse and worse’.
talking to IndependentBlades described how he burst into tears the day before the sit-down interview after an encounter with a young woman while leaving his hotel.
This exchange left Blades emotional as the young woman held his hand and told him, ‘When something breaks, you replace it with gold, which makes it stronger and celebrates what you have done. Has broken.
He said, ‘I’m going through some things right now, my life isn’t always bright, and that’s just what I needed to hear.’
He hugged the woman and tears flowed from his eyes. He then kissed her hand ‘like I was in the 18th century’ before tossing his famous flat hat at her before going on his way.
Blades seeks therapy for first time in six years ‘because there are some things going on in my head and I need to talk to someone’
Two days before his split from Lisa became public, he announced to his 195,000 Instagram followers that he was taking a break from social media.
Speaking after the funeral of his ‘very good man’ uncle Richard Brathwaite, 72, he said: ‘It [his death] Really made an impact on me. I’m feeling a little messed up, so what I intend to do is this: I’m going to step away from social media for a while and come back to it sometime.
‘I’m going to get some therapy and rest. Because when things happen, sometimes you need to take stock and relax.’
Brathwaite was found dead in Wembley, north London, in March after allegedly being stabbed to death by a neighbor following a long-running dispute over a shared street.
In her social media post, Lisa tearfully admitted that despite ‘wanting so much for the marriage to work’, she felt she ‘couldn’t get enough’
Jay Blades and Lisa Zabojan married at a beach villa in Barbados on November 22, 2022
Fitness trainer Lisa Zbojan confirms split from TV’s Jay Blades on Instagram
A man, also aged 72, has been charged with murder, wounding with intent and possessing a bladed article in a public place.
Blades and his wife have been living in a village near Wolverhampton since their wedding in Barbados.
The star of the BBC series is said to be protective of his privacy and has never revealed his home’s exact location when discussing it in interviews, except that it is close to Ironbridge, the world’s first bridge. Famous for the iron bridge which was built over the River Severn. Coalbrookdale in 1779.
He described the property as a coach house which is sparsely furnished but houses his prized 3,000 vinyl record collection.
In her social media post, Lisa tearfully confessed that despite ‘wanting so much for the marriage to work’, she felt like she ‘couldn’t get enough’.
Trying to suppress her tears, she admitted: ‘I don’t really, I still don’t really believe this is actually real because if you knew how much I loved my husband and I did this. How much effort has been made to complete it once again.
‘I just wanted it so much and I couldn’t get enough. I could never understand it properly.’
Thanking her 141,000 followers, she added: ‘So here I am. Thank you to everyone who sent me things to read etc. This is really helpful because your mind keeps wandering through memories like facts.
‘And I know there are a lot of you out there who agree with what you’re going through right now and I wonder when you’ll get to the point where you won’t feel so bad about yourself.
‘When you don’t feel like it, you can’t understand why you weren’t enough? Why everything?’
Blades’ uncle Richard Brathwaite (pictured), 72, died in March after he was allegedly stabbed to death by a neighbor following a long-running dispute over a shared street.
Mr Brathwaite was found dead on Cromwell Road in Wembley, north west London, in March this year. Mr. Brathwaite lived with the brown door on the left side of this picture
Jay Blades came to fame in the BBC restoration program The Repair Shop, which sees members of the public taking old family heirlooms to be restored by a team of experts.
As she captioned the final clip ‘one day at a time’ along with a broken heart emoji, she concluded: ‘Big breaths, one day at a time right. One day at a time.
‘It’s really sad, I should be angry but I’m just, I’m just sad.’
Sharing news of their split on Thursday, Lisa wrote: ‘I don’t know how to say this because it’s still really raw. ‘I should probably be really angry, but I’m just incredibly saddened by the whole thing right now.’
Blades came to fame on the BBC restoration program The Repair Shop – which sees members of the public taking worn-out family heirlooms to be restored by a team of experts – Starring in the show since its launch in 2017,
In 2022, a special episode to mark the BBC’s centenary saw Blades and the repair team meet the King at Dumfries House in Scotland, when he was still Prince of Wales.
During The Repair Shop: A Royal Visit, a bracket clock and a clock made by British ceramic manufacturer Wemyss Ware for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee were both fixed – and the broadcast later won a Daytime Bafta TV award.
Blades was made an MBE in May 2022 for his work in promoting heritage craft and restoration in the UK.
In his 2021 memoir, he talked about the consequences of the breakup of his first marriage and how his ‘life collapsed’ around him.
His ex-wife Jade, whom he met at university, had to call the police and report him missing after he disappeared.
The former couple have 17-year-old daughter Zola, and they separated in 2015.