Ben Foden has broken his silence after being booted off Dancing On Ice.
The rugby star made his skating debut on Sunday night’s show alongside his pro partner Robin Johnstone, and scored just 23 points out of a possible 40 from the judges, putting him at the bottom of the leaderboard.
The 36-year-old faced presenter Ria Hebden and her partner Lukasz Rozycki in the skate-off, with the judges chosing to save Ria and Lukasz, sending Ben and Robin home.
Taking to Instagram on Monday afternoon, Ben thanked his dance partner, his wife Jackie, and his fans for their support.
He wrote: “My last skate – THANK YOU @merobinorjane for saving my ASS when my brain completely froze don’t know what I’d have done without you! 🤣”
“@riahebden you skated Beautifully and totally deserved the win – can’t wait to watch you in movie week. 🎥 My wife fell in love with you beautiful family and your little girl in particular who was proud as punch of her mummy kicking this big rugby lumps arse out there 💕💕🤪🤪❤️❤️ that’s what it’s all about!”
“My rock and partner in crime @snackyjax thanks for loving me unconditionally- I put you through it with stuff like this and you mean the world to me I can take on anything and everything with you by my side.”
The father-of-three added: “Thanks everyone for supporting me and the messages, it’s all love ❤️ ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️”
“Thank you to those who gave up there time to vote and watch. It truly is a great show and I can’t wait to see who comes out with the @dancingonice crown for 2022 it’s going to be AWESOME 😎 x”
Ben was famously married to Irish singer Una Healy for six years, but they split in 2018 amid claims he was unfaithful.
The former couple continue to co-parent their 9-year-old daughter Aoife Belle and six-year-old son Tadhg.
Just one year after splitting from Una, Ben married his new wife Jackie Belanoff Smith after just two weeks of dating.
The couple welcomed their first child together the following year – a baby girl named Farrah.
Speaking ahead of his Dancing On Ice stint, Ben revealed he and Jackie “definitely” want more kids.
Dancing On Ice continues next Sunday from 6:30pm on Virgin Media One.
