Lee Mead Finally Opens Up About ‘Painful’ Divorce From Denise Van Outen… And Says He’s Ready For Love

Lee Mead and Denise Van Outen have consciously uncoupled as well as Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin.

The actor has just returned from holiday in Dubai – with his ex-wife, their five-year-old daughter Betsy and her new bloke Eddie Boxshall.

Boxshall is the man Van Outen, 41, got together with after her marriage to Mead, 34, below, ended two-and-a-half years ago.

The fact he can holiday with his estranged wife and her new man is probably helped by his new love.

Opening up about their split for the first time Mead said: “Getting through the divorce was painful. You need time to find yourself again and I think I’ve done that now.”

The Casualty star, who has just bought a new flat in his hometown of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, added in an interview with the Daily Mirror: “Our beautiful daughter will always be a marvellous connection between us. And I’m pleased Denise is happy.

“Eddie is a really nice guy and I like to think that Denise would want me to meet someone and be happy too.

“This is the happiest I’ve been in ages and I feel ready to share my life with someone.”

Mead and Van Outen, above, first met when she was a judge on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s talent show, Any Dream Will Do, in 2007, which Mead won.

But rumours of trouble began after Van Outen took six holidays in nine months without Mead.

They denied there were problems, stressing they were just juggling busy schedules, but in July 2013, four years after their intimate Seychelles wedding, the pair decided to break up.

Van Outen bounced back quickly, finding love with Eddie, a 42-year-old commodities trader from Essex, who she has dated since summer 2014.

But Mead has been slower to get dating, concentrating on his work, playing nurse Ben ‘Lofty’ Chiltern in BBC1’s Casualty.

Mead, above in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, said about his drive to find a new woman: “It’s important the next person I meet shares my values, as if you don’t share values, it can be an issue.

“I will also look for someone who is kind with and who I can feel totally myself with.

“I’ve had lots of dates but finding the right person isn’t easy. Until I do, I’m happy on my own.”

Pictures Getty Images