Former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys has hit out at claims about his relationship with wife Lucie. The couple wed in 2023 after his divorce from former partner Julia a decade ago.
Keys was a household name with football fans through his role at Sky Sports, presenting the broadcaster’s coverage when the Premier League launched in 1992. He gained prominence for his on-screen collaboration with Andy Gray but departed Sky Sports following the emergence of sexist remarks made off-camera. The pair subsequently reunited at BeIN Sports, where they have been employed for the past 13 years. However, Keys has repeatedly faced online comments about his private life. The seasoned broadcaster was married to Julia for 34 years before she initiated divorce proceedings in 2016 due to his alleged infidelity. As his spouse had previously received a thyroid cancer diagnosis, Keys was heavily criticised across social media.
He has also faced allegations that his current partner Lucie, who is 31 years his junior, had been his daughter’s closest friend. While he acknowledged that Lucie and his daughter Jemma had previously socialised together in Qatar, Keys rejected the characterisation of their relationship.
“What’s damaging is that people presume I ran away with my daughter’s best mate, locked her in a room, and gave her no choice about whether she wanted to be with me or not,” he told The Telegraph. “All of which is nonsense.”
“Lucie’s one of the most powerful, strong-minded individuals you’ll come across. She’s deeply passionate about women’s rights. People see me as an easy target, but the narrative is not fair on her. It’s totally wrong.”
He continued: “I never expected my marriage would end after 34 years, but Lucie bowled into my life and, wow, what a force of nature. And the rest is history.”
Keys met Lucie, a lawyer by profession, at a golf event in Qatar. She was employed by the Qatar Investment Authority at the time. His choice to leave Julia attracted criticism as his wife had supported him throughout his controversial exit from Sky Sports in 2011.
However, the presenter has refuted suggestions that his wife was unwell when they parted ways. Instead, Keys opted against discussing Julia’s health to preserve privacy.
He told The Telegraph: “I’ve never sat with anybody and talked about this, but I didn’t leave Julia dying of cancer, or suffering with cancer. Sadly, she had cancer in 2008 and ’09, and we ran into a genius surgeon who removed it.”
It has been confirmed that Keys and Gray are leaving BeIN Sports at the end of this season. He recently returned to England after departing Qatar following Iranian drone attacks.