Former Apprentice contestant and current Strictly Come Dancing competitor Thomas Skinner has been accused of carrying on a three‑month affair that began weeks after his May 2022 wedding, according to an interview published by the Daily Mail.
Amy‑Lucy O’Rourke, a 35‑year‑old aesthetician, told the newspaper she and Skinner, 34, became romantically involved after he began receiving body‑contouring treatments at her clinic in June 2022. O’Rourke said Skinner told her he was unhappy in his marriage and repeatedly professed love, describing a pattern of late‑night messages, dates and promises that led her to believe the relationship would continue.
O’Rourke told the Mail that Skinner said he had been in a "loveless relationship of convenience" and that he had introduced her to friends as his girlfriend. She said the relationship escalated quickly, with Skinner reportedly telling her "I love you" a few days after they kissed and at times staying overnight. She said Skinner also arranged gifts, accompanied her in public, and encouraged her to reduce work commitments to spend more time with him.
According to O’Rourke, the affair began less than a month after Skinner married his wife, Sinead, who is the mother of his three children: a son, now five, and two‑year‑old identical twin girls. O’Rourke said she discovered photographs on Sinead’s Instagram during a July 2022 night out that appeared to show the couple at a wedding together, with Skinner wearing his wedding ring. She said she confronted him at the time and that he left her at a central London restaurant.
O’Rourke provided the Daily Mail with a timeline of messages and incidents she said followed, including a July 22 text in which she said Skinner wrote, "I f***** up, I love you. My head has gone." She said he later attended her home uninvited, and she smashed his car windscreen in anger, an incident O’Rourke said was captured on her ring‑doorbell camera. She described attempts at reconciliation, a brief rekindling and a final break when she said his behaviour continued to be controlling and manipulative.
O’Rourke told the Mail the episode has had lasting effects on her wellbeing and business. "I’m still broken deep down," she said. "I feel manipulated, stupid and disappointed in myself. I couldn’t eat, sleep or run my business. What he did to me was unhealthy and cruel." She said she wanted the public to know her account because she believes she was lied to and used.
Skinner gave a different account to The Sun on Sunday, saying the contact was a "two‑week fling" and "nothing more than that" and describing it as a single mistake for which he felt "so guilty." He told that newspaper he had told his wife about the incident, saying, "I woke up feeling absolutely terrible about it. I felt so guilty, I told my wife. I let her down in that brief moment of madness where I wasn’t thinking, where I didn’t appreciate what I had." In the Mail interview, O’Rourke disputed the shorter timeline and said Skinner had sought to downplay the relationship.
Skinner rose to public attention on the BBC's The Apprentice and has since been in the spotlight for multiple reasons, including his appearance on Strictly Come Dancing and a reported friendship with U.S. political figure JD Vance. The BBC confirmed Strictly returns this weekend; the show has faced several controversies in recent years, and producers are said to be wary of further headlines as the new series begins. Skinner was reported to have left a BBC press conference for the programme abruptly last week.
The account published by the Daily Mail includes details of conversations, messages and incidents that O’Rourke said she documented at the time. She also said Skinner told her he had told his wife he did not love her and that he was living a double life — claims she later learned were untrue, she said. O’Rourke said she felt compelled to speak out now because of Skinner’s public profile and to counter what she described as attempts by him to minimise the relationship in other media interviews.
Representatives for Skinner were approached for comment through the publications that carried his responses. The Daily Mail report said Skinner was asked for comment; the Mail added that he was approached for an interview but provided a statement to The Sun. The BBC did not comment on the personal allegations but has previously said contestants are expected to comply with its standards.
All parties involved have differing versions of events. This report relies on O’Rourke’s interview with the Daily Mail and Skinner’s statements to other media outlets. No legal action stemming from the allegations has been reported publicly as of publication.