Jermaine Jenas Jests About "Divorce War" Over Son's School Project

Former footballer Jermaine Jenas has humorously declared a "divorce war" with his ex-wife, Ellie Penfold, after their son took a Chelsea Football Club shirt to school for show and tell.

Jenas, a lifelong Nottingham Forest fan, took to Instagram to share his mock outrage. He posted a video explaining that his son, Jacob, had show and tell at school, and his ex-wife had packed a Chelsea shirt. "This is what she's put in his bag for show and tell today," Jenas said in the video, before his son revealed the item. "This is what she's sending MY son into school!"

Bursting into laughter, Jenas quipped, "Savage!" and added, "Yeah things are great!" He captioned the video "Divorce wars" and commented, "Good banter...game on," with a laughing emoji, emphasizing that there was no genuine animosity between them.

Jenas and Penfold split in March 2025, approximately six months after Jenas was dismissed from his role at the BBC in August 2024 following a sexting scandal. The couple married in 2011 and share three children: Jacob, Geneva, and Olivia. Jenas also has an older daughter, Sancha, from a previous relationship.

At the time of their split, Penfold shared a statement on social media: "After 16 years together and 4 wonderful children, Jermaine and I have decided to part ways. We will remain friends and continue to co-parent. We kindly ask that you respect our children's privacy during this challenging time." Jenas later spoke on the "Filthy Fellas" podcast, revealing that while he would have preferred to stay together for the sake of their children, the decision to separate was ultimately Penfold's.

Jenas grew up in Nottingham and supports Nottingham Forest, his boyhood club, for whom he played as a teenager. His career also saw him play for other major clubs, including Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, fierce rivals of Chelsea.

Reports in May of this year suggested Jenas had found a new relationship with Anne, a 31-year-old woman working in property in Paris. A source told The Sun that Jenas was "happier than ever" and had been dating Anne since December, keeping their relationship low-profile but spending increasing amounts of time in France.