Yahoo News Jay Blades's relationship timeline with wife Lisa as she announces split
The Repair Shop star has split from wife Lisa Zbozen after just 18 months of marriage.
The Repair Shop's Jay Blades married for the second time in a romantic ceremony in Barbados – but now his wife has said it is over just 18 months on from the wedding.
His wife Lisa Zbozen has posted online to say that she was "incredibly sad" and "in a spare room with a few essentials" on Thursday morning. Blades has not commented on the split.
It came just a day after Blades said he was taking some time away from the spotlight after his uncle's death in a neighbour dispute.
Take a look back at their relationship timeline, including Zbozen's help with Blades' dyslexia and their idyllic wedding in 2022.
What has Zbozen said about splitting from Jay Blades?
Zbozen shared her feelings at first on a private Instagram before making her comments public.
She wrote on Instagram: "I don't know how to say this because it's still really raw. I probably should be really angry but I'm just incredibly sad about the whole thing right now. I don't think I've ever cried so much."
She also wrote: "I will admit I'm crying as I type this as I can't believe this is even real. I hope you don't mind if I just have a few days trying to figure out my life as I'm currently in a spare room with a few essentials. I don't know what else to say. All my love, A very broken Lisa-Marie x."
She shared why she had decided to post it publicly. In the public post, she added to her message: "I have been quiet until now, but the papers seem to be picking up this story, I want it to be clear what I put so there’s no misunderstanding."
Yahoo has reached out to Jay Blades' representatives for further comment.
Early days
Blades had been married once before but split from his first wife Jade in 2015 and has said he was homeless for a while after things ended.
However, the dad-of-three found love again with fitness trainer Zbozen, who has a busy Instagram account where she regularly posts new workouts.
The pair carefully guarded their privacy, although after announcing their engagement in 2021 Zbozen told her Instagram followers that she had thought she would marry Blades the first time she met him.
Dyslexia support
When Blades opened up on his lifelong problems with reading and late in life diagnosis of dyslexia in BBC documentary Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51, viewers got a glimpse of their relationship.
Zbozen was shown helping Blades to work through some words he was practising reading and he paid tribute to the support she had offered him.
He said: "I've mainly got by from the help from those around me, people like Lisa."
Barbados wedding
Furniture maker and restorer Blades married Zbozen in November 2022 during an intimate outdoor ceremony in Barbados.
The couple invited just 15 guests to the grounds of a beachfront villa, where they exchanged rings made by The Repair Shop's Richard Talman in the Egyptian style of an imperfect circle. Zbozen told Hello! at the time: "I really don't want a perfect wedding ring because I think nothing is perfect. It's also more individual and has got a lot more care and love thought into it."
A year on from the wedding, Blades told Hello! in October 2023: "One word sums up the day: perfect. We had our closest family there, the weather held out and everything worked out so well."
Zbozen added: "Once you get to a certain age, you realise what's actually important on the day - and that is having the people around you that love you for who you are. So we made the day our day."
