Martine McCutcheon returns to social media after split from husband Jack and reveals ‘next chapter’
MARTINE McCutcheon today returned to social media after the breakdown of her marriage and said she is looking forward to the “next chapter”.
The Love Actually star, 48, and musician Jack McManus, 40, shocked fans last summer when they revealed they had split after more than 18 years together, being married for 12.
Martine returned to Instagram with a sweet video, and explained that she had taken a social media break so she could “find her feet” after the breakdown of her marriage.
Sharing the clip on her Stories, the Perfect Moment singer said: “Hello everybody it has been a long time since I have been on here but I wanted to say that your messages of love and support and all sorts last year were so so amazing for me last year.
“So thank you so much.
“I have not been on here I have basically been finding my feet, healing, focusing on the next chapter which I am very excited.”
Martine then went on to explain that she was proud that her and Jack have put their child Rafferty before everything else.
The actress last post on social media was an inspirational quote at the end of last year, where she talked about “respect”.
The message read: “The only people who deserve to be in your life next year, are the ones who treat you with love, kindness and respect.
“If the vibes are weird, move on.”
The actress’ break-up shocked fans as it came just days after Martine posted a loved-up birthday tribute to Jack.
She has since revealed he was the one to end their marriage.
Ex-EastEnders star Martine told BBC Radio’s Woman’s Hour that Jack left after their marriage came under strain, made worse when she became reclusive.
She was also diagnosed with ADD – but admits she found herself denying the diagnosis to begin with.
Martine – who also has ME (chronic fatigue syndrome) – was struggling to get out of bed after her sibling LJ – Laurence John – passed away with “no medical explanation” at the age of 31 in 2022.
She explained: “I didn’t want to answer my phone. I didn’t want to answer the front door, go outside and I would panic out of nowhere and have to pull over when I was driving because I felt this huge fear and couldn’t breathe.”
“I genuinely felt I was losing my mind,” she added. “I didn’t know if I really was or if it was something that was perimenopausal.
“It would just come on out of nowhere and when I spoke to my specialist about it she said, ‘You know this is sadly the case for many women’.”
END OF THE ROAD
Martine and Jack met in 2006, married in 2012 and together have a nine-year-old son, Rafferty.
When they announced their split, Martine confirmed Rafferty would remain the top priority for them.
She wrote in her Instagram Stories: “After much thought and consideration, Jack has decided it’s best for us to separate after 18 years together and I accept his decision.
“We are both so very blessed and grateful for our beautiful, 9 year old son Rafferty, whose happiness and welfare, has always been, and will continue to be, our number one priority.
“We both of course, still cherish and look forward to being parents together to our wonderful boy for the rest of our lives…
“Whilst this decision has evolved over a period of time, we are still finding our new way forward as a family and kindly ask for some privacy at this time…
“Our love for Rafferty is something that will never waver or change and we obviously want to protect him and help him feel as safe and secure as possible.”
MOVING ON
In a bid for a fresh start, it was revealed how the pair slashed the price of their £1.5million home in order to speed up the sale.
The Surrey pad is now going for £1.25million – putting the pair at a half-million pound loss from when they first bought it in 2022.
The former couple had initially put the house up for sale in May, three months before they announced they had gone their separate ways.