Denise Van Outen’s ex Eddie Boxshall says he’s ‘deeply sorry’ for sexting behind her back

Denise Van Outen's ex-fiance Eddie Boxshall has said he is "deeply sorry" for the sex texts he sent to another woman behind her back, which ended their relationship.

TV and theatre star Van Outen ended her seven-year relationship with Boxshall earlier this year, calling off their engagement after she discovered the inappropriate texts and photos on his phone and iPad.

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But now, Boxshall has told The Sun that it was "one mistake" and that he was going through "a very dark time" in his life.

He said: "I hurt ­Denise, I broke her trust and I’m deeply sorry...I deeply regret that I sent those messages."

Boxshall said that he had apologised to Van Outen and added that he was "embarrassed and ashamed", admitting that he had turned to alcohol to try to cope with the split.

He told how he had been at "a very dark time in my life" after being accused of gross misconduct by his former employers in 2017 and had grown distant from Van Outen as he kept his spiralling legal costs to himself, choosing to confide in a stranger who contacted him on Instagram instead.

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Boxshall ended up swapping a series of risque texts with the woman one night, but says it was a one-off incident.

He claimed that he was speaking out now as he was sick of seeing interviews with Van Outen about the split and wanted to be able to move on from what happened.

The 49-year-old said: "I have kept quiet for a long time about what happened between us, and I begged her not to speak publicly about the breakdown of our relationship.

"But there’s been interview after interview. I’ve been slaughtered for five months because of the picture Denise has painted of me. I made one mistake, which I will regret for ever. But it was one mistake."

Van Outen had told BBC Radio 2 in the wake of the break-up: “The one thing I’m really proud of myself for is I do know when to walk away and I don’t like to be taken advantage of.

"Sometimes it’s been to the detriment of my own career or in my own relationships, but I just feel like it’s really important as a woman to have self-worth and self-respect."

Watch: Denise Van Outen says she's proud she walked away from Eddie Boxshall