Inside Nick Knowles and wife Jessica's 'traumatic' year (2024)

DIY SOS host Nick defended his brief romance with Emmerdale actress Gemma Oaten today, insisting he remains "united" with his wife

Nick Knowles spoke out today insisting his brief romance with Emmerdale actress Gemma Oaten happened during a "turbulent and traumatic time".

Gemma gave a tell-all chat about their night together, claiming it turned sour as they lay in bed, with him suddenly growing cold and distant after their phones flagged up Sunday Mirror snaps of them getting lovey-dovey after an awards night.

Nick has since addressed the claims, insisting he was separated from his wife Jessica at the time, and explaining it was a difficult time for him.

Revealing he remains "united" with his wife now, Nick said in a statement today: "With everything that's happened this year, even discussing this seems very trivial in comparison to what we have dealt with and are still dealing with.

"As always, our answer is united, as we are. We have enjoyed eight years as best friends and nothing will change that."

It's been a devastating year for both Nick and his wife Jessica.

She has previously opened up about her brave battle with cancer earlier this year, as well as a devastating miscarriage she suffered, and their brief marriage split just a few months ago.

Here we look back at the time, in her own words:

Jessica first spoke out in July, while she was separated from Nick, to reveal her estranged husband had helped her through her battle with cervical cancer.

In fact, in a moving interview at the time, she revealed how it was DIY SOS host Nick, 53, who saved her life.

For he persuaded her to go the doctors after she confided in him that she was unwell.

Within days of her cancer ­diagnosis she had surgery to save her life.

But it was just another blow in 12 months of hell for Jessica.

She had the trauma of separating from Nick, losing their baby, and dealing with the death of her beloved gran, and she added at the time: “I’ve been to hell and back. My whole life has fallen apart. I’ve lost two people I love and I’ve been seriously ill.

“Me and Nick ­separated, then I had a miscarriage. I had to pack up my life in Spain – we had relocated to ­Andalucia and thought it would be a nice life for Eddie, but it didn’t materialise. I had to put away wedding albums and separate our belongings. Then my nanny died. I couldn’t deal with her death then because I was alone in Spain with my son. Then I came back and grieved for her.

“It was so hard. It just started to feel like I was beginning to breath and then this happened.”

While Nick supported her throughout, they remained separated.

Speaking in August, Jessica explained that she threw a special party for her son after a hellish two months in which she battled the cancer .

Getting the all-clear should have raised her sagging spirits.

But she later collapsed twice, living in fear of the cancer returning. She said at the time: “It’s been one step forward and two steps back.

“The recovery has been hard. I ended up going to after collapsing in a hotel after lunch with my mum.

"They were worried about deep vein thrombosis. They couldn’t find anything. The next week I went to my doctors.

"The pain had come back and it was so severe. I stood up to walk to the examination room and I passed out.

"I was rushed to hospital where they did an ultrasound and found a lot of fluid in my groin which was pressing on my nerves.

“I have a high pain threshold but this was excruciating. Every twinge or ache is terrifying.

"The first thought that crosses my mind is ‘Is the cancer back’?”

Two weeks after surgery to remove her cervix she was given the all-clear.

Meanwhile, Nick was pictured cosying up to Emmerdale star Gemma Oaten earlier this year, while he was single - sparking claims of a romance.

The snaps prompted the actress to speak out in the Sunday Mirror this week, and Nick has since hit back, revealing the "traumatic" time he has been through.

He added of his marriage: "This year we faced a miscarriage, the break down of our marriage and cancer without being disrespectful about each other at any point."

He now insists both he and his wife Jessica remain "united" and are moving forwards.