Andy Carroll posted a loved-up photograph with partner Lou Teasdale on his Instagram Stories on Sunday, appearing to rebut media reports that the couple had split for a second time after a turbulent period in their relationship.
The image followed reports that the pair had ended their romance again after a make-or-break holiday failed to mend their differences. The two first parted earlier this month following a series of rows; initial accounts said Carroll, 36, had ended the relationship, while a Daily Mail report said Teasdale, 41, had called it off. Four days later the couple publicly reconciled and posted affectionate snaps together.
Carroll has publicly acknowledged difficulties in the relationship and told The Sun he was trying to address them. "I love Lou and I love her family. We row like any couple," he said, adding that he was "going through a divorce" and that some arguments had involved alcohol. Carroll said Teasdale has been teetotal for 14 years and that he planned to cut down in an effort to make the relationship work.
Reports this month detailed a number of incidents while the couple were on holiday in Greece. A restaurant worker told The Sun that Carroll appeared heavily intoxicated and engaged in a heated argument with his partner; police attended and spoke with him, and the couple later left the venue. Later the same night, hotel staff reported damage to a room leading to further police involvement. Daily Mail reported Carroll was taken to a police station for questioning but was not arrested and no charges were brought.
A joint statement the couple gave to The Sun disputed the scale of the coverage, saying the discussion "was the sort that most couples have had on occasion" and that the police concluded there was no reason for further action. "We are very happy, in love and looking forward to our future together and we are disappointed that a private disagreement has become a public matter," the statement said.
Sources cited by tabloid outlets have described the relationship as "tumultuous," and one source told The Sun the couple had tried to make things work but were "too different." Another source speaking to the Daily Mail said Teasdale ended the relationship and that Carroll subsequently sought reconciliation, flying to Ibiza in an attempt to find her.
Carroll, who returned to the UK last month to play for Dagenham & Redbridge after a two-year spell in France, was once Britain's most expensive Premier League signing when Liverpool paid Newcastle United £35 million for him. He began dating Teasdale last year after separating from former The Only Way Is Essex star Billi Mucklow, with whom he shares three children. Carroll has said he and Mucklow called time on their marriage last year and that he is in the process of divorcing.
Following the Sunday's Instagram post, which showed the pair together and affectionate, media claims of a second split were left unresolved by the outlets that first reported the separation. Carroll's public photo served as the clearest indication yet from the couple that they remain together, at least for now, as they continue to navigate personal and legal matters and attempts to reconcile private difficulties with a highly public profile.