The Daily Mail published messages and a detailed timeline on Wednesday it says undermine Strictly Come Dancing contestant Thomas Skinner's assertion that an extramarital encounter was a "one-off" mistake.
According to the Mail, aesthetics clinician Amy‑Lucy O'Rourke told the paper that messages, FaceTime calls and meetings between her and Skinner began on May 13, 2022—eight days before Skinner married his wife, Sinead—and continued through July 7, 2022. The report said it had seen what it described as "receipts," including explicit messages and a chronology of contacts that, the Mail wrote, contrast with Skinner's public statement that the relationship was fleeting.
The Mail's account says the exchanges included late‑night calls and texts in which the pair used affectionate language. The paper quoted O'Rourke as saying Skinner referred to her as "the duchess" and called her "beautiful," and that their communications became "eye‑wateringly explicit" by July. The report added that they met in person on several occasions, including trips to central London and visits to restaurants, and that Skinner allegedly helped with tasks such as collecting a repaired car from a garage.
Skinner, who first acknowledged he had been unfaithful in an interview with The Sun, told that paper he had committed "a brief moment of madness" and that the episode left him feeling "absolutely terrible." The Mail said O'Rourke disputed that characterisation and told the paper she had been led to believe he had portrayed his marriage as a sham during the relationship.
The Mail's timeline, as described in its story, places a FaceTime call between Skinner and O'Rourke on June 20, less than a month after Skinner's wedding on May 21, 2022, followed by an in‑person meeting the next evening after O'Rourke finished appointments at her clinic. The paper quoted O'Rourke as saying Skinner frequently told her he loved her and invited her on a work trip, while she said she likewise expressed love for him.
The report also describes a deterioration in July 2022 when O'Rourke said she ended the relationship after nearly three months. The Mail published accounts of a July confrontation outside O'Rourke's home near Brentwood, Essex, captured on her Ring doorbell camera. The paper says footage shows Skinner arriving at her door and remaining outside for more than a minute despite her telling him she did not want to talk. The Mail reported that O'Rourke then smashed the windscreen of Skinner's Mercedes 4x4 and that Skinner later sent her messages calling her a "crazy lady" and "insane."
O'Rourke told the Mail the relationship had "a lasting effect" and called Skinner a "liar." The paper said she recounted moments of jealousy, claiming Skinner said he would "punch them all" after hearing rumours she might be seeing other men.
Skinner has built a public profile as a father of three and an Apprentice star, and is scheduled to appear on the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing. The Mail's story follows Skinner's own interview with The Sun in which he admitted infidelity and apologised to his wife, describing the incident as a single mistake. The Mail declined to publish copies of the messages it reported seeing but summarised their contents and the chronology.
Public figures involved in high‑profile television programming often face scrutiny when personal matters emerge. The Mail's account represents one media report of events; neither Skinner nor his representatives were quoted in the Mail piece beyond his earlier comments to The Sun, and the broadcaster BBC has not issued a statement regarding his participation in Strictly. The Mail named its reporter on the story as Katie Hind and framed the article around the documentation it said it had examined.
The claims add to a broader media narrative about the contestant's private life that has circulated since his admission of an affair. Further developments, including any response from Skinner or the BBC about his television commitments, may clarify the timeline and the nature of the exchanges reported by the Mail.