As Ant McPartlin promised to have and to hold his second wife, his first wife was holding on to their great mutual love – chocolate labrador Hurley.
The dog was bought in 2013 as Ant and Lisa Armstrong struggled, and ultimately failed, to have a baby.
When they split in 2018, he told lawyers: ‘She can have anything she wants – except the dog.’
They ended up agreeing to share custody for a week at a time each, which is how Lisa was to be seen looking radiantly happy with Hurley – and her new boyfriend James Green – in a London park yesterday.
Ant, meanwhile, had to make do instead with a labrador made out of fondant on the top of his wedding cake.
Lisa, a make-up artist, had been keeping a low profile as Ant married former personal assistant Anne-Marie Corbett, with Instagram updates suggesting she had been enjoying a weekend away with James at a luxury hotel in Wales.
Given their acrimonious divorce it’s understandable if she wanted a distraction on his big day.
While she and Ant had split before he got together with Anne-Marie, she still felt utterly betrayed when it emerged that they were dating. As she put it: ‘To think she was MY friend. My friend and OUR PA who I let into our home.’
All that conflict was forgotten, however, when Ant married Anne-Marie at Heckfield in Hampshire on Saturday.
Ant McPartlin's ex-wife Lisa Armstrong took their dog Hurley for a walk with new partner James Green as Ant wedded his second wife Anne-Marie Corbett in a lavish ceremony on Saturday
During his speech at their reception at Heckfield Place hotel the TV presenter told 100 guests: ‘This beautiful woman saved my life.’
After warming up the audience by joking ‘My name is Ant, and I’m an alcoholic’, he went on to talk about how Anne-Marie had ‘put him back together again’ after his life fell apart.
They got together after he was involved in an accident, crashing his Mini while over the drink-drive limit in April 2018.
Anne-Marie’s teenage daughters Poppy and Daisy, who were bridesmaids, have also come to mean the world to him, he added.
Ant, 45, said: ‘I’m grateful that they call me Dad.’ The girls had given readings during the service.
His new mother-in-law, Anne, made a brief speech in which she thanked him for being a wonderful stepdad to the girls.
Pictured: Ant and Anne-Marie hand-in-hand after exchanging vows before family and friends
Ant and Anne-Marie, known as Amzie, were heading home to London today, forgoing a honeymoon due to Covid travel restrictions.
Their big day is thought to have cost up to £500,000, with all the guests staying at Heckfield Place for two nights at
