I sent 20 sex texts behind Denise van Outen’s back – she screamed and threw me out, reveals Eddie Boxshall
EDDIE Boxshall says furious Denise Van Outen yelled abuse and turfed him out of their home as she accused him of cheating on her.
Eddie, 49 — who dated the TV star for seven years — was confronted over sex texts and photos she found on his iPad.
He said: “She was in a rage, screaming obscenities at me, that she didn’t want me in her life any more, and my life was going to be ruined without her.
“Then she physically helped me out of the house.
“As I left I knew it was going to be the last time I would ever see her. I was absolutely gutted.”
Eddie — who appeared alongside Denise on TV’s Celebrity Gogglebox — has admitted swapping up to 20 sex texts behind her back.
Read More on Denise Van Outen
He said they were sent on a single night after a few drinks.
But he insists he did not betray Denise, 49,, on any other occasion and that other images of women she discovered — such as a selfie with an ex — were innocent.
Eddie said: “I hurt Denise, I broke her trust and I’m deeply sorry.
“I’m sitting here to say I hold my hands up to what I’ve done wrong.
Most read in Celebrity
“I deeply regret that I sent those messages.
“I’ve tried to apologise to Denise. I’ve sent her untold messages on text, on email, saying that I love her and that I’m sorry for what I’ve done — that I’m embarrassed and I’m ashamed.
“I’ve not been in a good place for six months — I’ve even turned to alcohol to help me cope.
“I knew my actions had broken us. But I still hoped that our seven-year relationship was strong enough to withstand a mistake I made at a very dark time in my life.
“As far as Denise is concerned, the trust between us is broken and I have to respect that.”
Eddie added: “I have kept quiet for a long time about what happened between us, and I begged her not to speak publicly about the breakdown of our relationship.
“But there’s been interview after interview. I’ve been slaughtered for five months because of the picture Denise has painted of me.
“I made one mistake, which I will regret forever. But it was one mistake.”
The Sun revealed in January that Denise kicked Eddie out after finding suspicious photos on his iPad.
They included a snap of him posing with an ex-girlfriend — whose name was saved in his contacts with a risqué picture attached — and a screenshot of their selfie as his screensaver.
There was also another snap of a girl’s cleavage.
Eddie vehemently denies cheating on Denise with either of the women.
I can see how Denise built up a picture against me, but all of those things were innocent, and I told her so when she showed me all the photos.
Eddie Boxshall
He told how the selfie with the ex — who he dated for three months in 2011 but had not seen for a decade — was taken at a chance meeting with a group of other friends.
He said he made it his screensaver by mistake whilst trying to select another photo, and accidentally took a screenshot of it.
And he dismissed as “absurd” the suggestion that he would have another woman’s photo displayed like that while in a relationship.
Eddie insisted the risqué picture saved as his ex’s profile in his contacts dated back to their romance — saying he had forgotten it was there.
He also said the cleavage shot he had been sent by a second woman was unsolicited.
Eddie added: “I can see how Denise built up a picture against me, but all of those things were innocent, and I told her so when she showed me all the photos.”
During their tense confrontation, at their home in Essex last November, Denise presented Eddie with a screenshot of a message from a third woman, named Tracy.
He then confessed to sending her a series of sex tests in a “moment of madness”.
Eddie said the revelation devastated Denise, who exploded in a fit of rage.
He recalled: “I admitted I had sent Tracy texts of a sexual nature and I could tell Denise’s mind went automatically to seedy video calls and photographs which never existed. I could see she was erupting inside.
“Then she asked me how long I had known her and I lied on the spot. I shouldn’t have, but I felt embarrassed that I’d been caught up in something like that with a stranger I’d met online.
“I told her I knew her via my friends and she instantly replied: ‘You’re lying, because she said you’ve never met.’ So I admitted: ‘You’re right.’
I admitted I had sent Tracy texts of a sexual nature and I could tell Denise’s mind went automatically to seedy video calls and photographs which never existed. I could see she was erupting inside.
Eddie Boxshall
“She was visibly upset and angry, her voice was raised and she was shouting — and I don’t blame her for that. It hurt her that I had turned to another woman, a stranger, rather than her.”
Former City trader Eddie said he sent the sex texts while in the darkest period of his life — after he was accused of gross misconduct by former employers SCB & Associates in 2017.
The court case against him was set for October 2018, and as he said that as it approached, he began spiralling out of control — drinking heavily and suffering crippling panic attacks as his legal costs soared to tens of thousands of pounds.
And while he felt too ashamed to confide in Denise about the extent of his problems, he found himself opening up to a stranger — Tracy — who had messaged him on Instagram in April 2018.
He said: “At that time, Denise and I were not in a good place.
“We were looking for a property together, but I was holding back because of the financial problems I had — which she didn’t know about.
“I was in a black hole, and sinking fast. Meanwhile, because she didn’t know the truth, she was thinking I didn’t want to commit to her as a partner — and was getting frustrated, being more distant.
“I was drinking more. I was drinking every day, at lunchtime, after work and when I got home. I wasn’t falling over but it was a habitual crutch. My mental health was falling apart and I was using alcohol as a band aid.
“Then one night in June — after a few drinks — the texts I was swapping with Tracy became a bit colourful. She told me she liked me, and I replied that I liked her too.
“And I engaged in the conversation. It was innuendos, then they got stronger as the night went on.
“I wasn’t blind drunk — I knew what I was doing, and I knew it was wrong, but I went with it.
“And as soon as I woke up the next day I knew I had been an absolute f****** idiot.”
I’d jokingly call her the Ice Queen at times, because I’d go to kiss her and get her cheek.
Eddie Boxshall
“I messaged Tracy and told her it shouldn’t have happened. She was angry at first, and she sent a message that I took a screenshot of.
“But she later apologised and that was the end of it. We stayed friends for a few more months and then the last text we exchanged was in November 2018.”
Eddie continued: “I did consider telling Denise what had happened.
But my mental health deteriorated after that — to the extent that I was experiencing suicidal thoughts.
“When things did eventually begin to improve, I didn’t want to rock the boat.
“I told myself I hadn’t had an affair, I hadn’t met up with anyone, I hadn’t been in hotels. I got caught up in a moment, because of my state of mind.
“So I drew a line under it, and the next time I thought of it was when Denise found the screenshot I had taken amongst my iPad photos.
“When I confessed to sexting Tracy, I said to Denise: ‘I hope you can see where I was when I did this.’
“But her response was: ‘That doesn’t mean anything, you went to another woman’. I’ve got to respect the way she feels.”
Eddie said: “Since then, I have been in a dark place, and it’s only in the past few weeks that I’ve begun to feel more positive.
“I’ve stopped drinking alcohol and have been exercising more.
“I’ve been offered a supporting film role working with Ray Burdis from Fugitive Film Productions, and opportunities with my music, which I’m really looking forward to.
“I’ve realised that our relationship had not been the one I wanted it to be for about a year. Denise and I had become quite distant.
“She worked incredibly hard both before and after lockdown — her work ethic is second to none — and we had become like ships in the night, growing more apart the more time we spent apart.
“We were always friends, and our house was full of laughter, but she had become quite cold towards me.
“I’m very affectionate and Denise would admit she’s not that kind of person.
“I’d jokingly call her the Ice Queen at times, because I’d go to kiss her and get her cheek.
“So combine that with the messages I sent, and it’s easy to see why she didn’t want to work on fixing things between us — how those messages became the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“Until recently I had no intention of speaking publicly — even in the face of the vicious trolling I’ve had from some people, both on social media and in the street.
“The reason I am speaking now is that after all of the coverage and the abuse died down, Denise gave yet another interview, adding more fuel to the fire. I want this to stop.
Read More on The Sun
“I will always love Denise. I hope she finds someone who will treat her right and not betray her trust.
“But I hope now we can both leave the past behind.”
