The Repair Shop star Jay Blades has opened up about a poignant encounter he shared with a stranger just days before his wife Lisa Marie Zbozen announced they had split. The 54-year-old and his second wife, a 44-year-old fitness coach, tied the knot at an intimate ceremony in Barbados back in November 2022, a year after getting engaged.
On Thursday, Lisa announced she was heartbroken that their marriage had come to an end in an emotional statement shared with her Instagram fans. Just days before the split news, Jay revealed in an interview that he “needed a little cry” as he was “going through some stuff”.
Speaking to The Independent, he shared: “This young lady came up to me as I left my hotel. She started talking to me, and she held my hand and said, ‘When something’s broken, you replace it with gold, which makes it stronger and celebrates what broke you’.”
According to the interviewer, Jay then took a long breath and said: “I’ve been going through some stuff at the moment, my life is not always rosy, and that’s exactly what I needed to hear.”
In response to the stranger’s words, the BBC star said he cried and hugged her before sharing reassuring words of his own. “Then I kissed her hand, like I was in the 18th century, tipped my hat to her and went on my way,” he added.
While he didn’t specify what he was going through at the time, Jay announced just a few days later that he was taking a break from social media after family heartache.
In view of his 194,000 followers, the BBC star appeared emotional upon announcing his uncle Richard Brathwaite had been murdered.
The furniture restorer said the shocking ordeal had left him feeling “a little messed up” and was therefore going to “get some therapy and chill out”.
Jay’s uncle was allegedly stabbed to death by a neighbour in a row over a shared alleyway.
Just under two days later, Lisa made her announcement about their marriage split, which prompted many fans to send supportive messages.
As part of her emotional statement, the fitness guru wrote: “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 went on to say she was “crying” as she typed out the message and couldn’t believe the end of their relationship was 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,” she continued. “I don’t know what else to say. All my love, a very broken Lisa-Marie x.”
Jay is yet to publicly address their split. Express.co.uk has contacted his representatives for comment.
The Repair Shop star announced he had popped the question to Lisa back in December 2021 after recruiting co-star Richard Talman to design the special ring.
11 months later, they tied the knot at a lavish ceremony in Barbados with only 15 loved ones present.
As part of an exclusive photoshoot with Hello! Magazine at the time, Jay described their big day as “perfect” in a joint interview with his new wife, who went on to say: “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.”
