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Ore Oduba's 'entirely different' living situation after split that left wife 'treading water'


The 2016 Strictly winner and Newsround presenter opened up about his split from wife Portia, whom he broke up with last October. The couple share two children


Ore Oduba on 'Loose Men  in khaki shirt© Shutterstock
Katie Daly
Katie DalyLifestyle Writer
6 days ago
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Ore Oduba is going through a divorce from his wife, Portia, and has opened up about how the split is impacting him day-to-day. The former Strictly champ, 39, made an appearance on the Extraordinary Life Stories podcast, revealing: "My wife and I split up 12 months ago. And the life before that and the life that I've grown into are just … entirely different.

"There's nothing, there are no similarities whatsoever," he added, saying that this upheaval has been "painful" but that in recent times he has felt like he has "found himself". Ore and Portia met in 2010 when they were both students at Loughborough University and tied the knot in 2015. They share a son, Roman, born in 2018, and a four-year-old Genie. 

couple posing at premiere© Getty Images
The pair, who are divorcing, share two children together

Ore also spoke about how his divorce followed the death of his father two years ago and how this made him reconsider his life. "My dad died in October 2023. And in the process of our mourning and our grieving and our going to the funeral back in Nigeria, where he lived, I realised I had lived my entire life to that point in fear. Crippling fear," the The One Show presenter admitted. "For the first time, I was able to look at my life as it was now, you know, oh, okay, things had to change. And I started pressing some red buttons in my life, some self-destruct buttons, because I knew that I couldn't carry on as it was."

Portia on 'treading water' after split

Following Ore and Portia's split, the couple sold their £935,000 home in Kent. Speaking about her experience, Portia said on Instagram: "What I'm going through is one of the most stressful things that you can ever go through - doing the daily grind, looking after the kids and being present," she said. 

couple smiling on red carpet© Getty Images
Portia has opened up about her experience of being a single mother

"It just feels sometimes like you are constantly treading water, and sometimes I just feel like "Oh My God. I can't do this any more. I'm done". It gets you down a bit. I genuinely am a positive person but…I'm not the first - won't be the last. So many lovely people message me to share their stories and tell me what they are going through."

Ore opens up about fatherhood

boy with arm around little girl from behind in woodland© Instagram
Ore and Portia co-parent Roman and Genie

Prior to the birth of his second child in 2021, Ore opened up about the new chapter in an exclusive interview with HELLO! and how welcoming a new baby after the Covid-19 lockdown tested their relationship. "The last year has been the biggest test of our entire relationship," Ore admitted. "I thought I'd be terrified [at having a second child], but after this year, I say: 'Bring it on!' If we can do 14 months of lockdowns, having two children is nothing – says the man who doesn't yet have two children! We're thrilled."

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