Olympic gold medallist Denise Lewis has spoken candidly about the breakdown of her 17-year marriage, stating she now feels 'at peace' with herself as she embraces a new chapter in her life.
The End of a 17-Year Marriage
The 53-year-old athletics legend confirmed her divorce from music mogul husband Steve Finan in an Instagram post last month. The couple had quietly separated two years ago, with Finan, who managed the late Liam Payne for seven years, moving out of the family's Buckinghamshire home last year. The pair share three sons: Ryan, 19, Kane, 16, and Troy, seven.
In her first detailed comments on the split, made on HELLO! magazine's 'Second Act' podcast with Ateh Jewel, Lewis pinpointed a failure in communication as a critical factor in the marriage's demise. She described how a lack of check-ins during periods of personal change can create a 'massive problem' in long-term relationships.
Learning from the Past, Embracing the Future
'Communication is everything throughout and making sure that your values are aligned,' Lewis insisted. She reflected that sustaining a relationship requires making it a central priority, a challenge she acknowledged became difficult. 'I think if you haven't found that time or don't make that time to put your relationship back at the centre of everything, then it's hard. It's really hard,' she said.
Now, two years on from the separation, the heptathlon champion says she is firmly in her 'second act'. 'I think I feel like I've evolved, I feel at peace,' she explained. 'It's not like I haven't got any more aspirations... I feel secure in myself.' She added that she now prioritises her own needs, stating, 'I just know where I am in the queue and it's more towards the front.'
A Newfound Confidence and Energy
This personal evolution has brought a surge of energy and confidence. 'I'm more energized now than I have been over the last decade,' Lewis declared, also noting she is 'more prepared to speak my mind.' This bold new mindset recently led her to pose for her first-ever lingerie shoot for Coco de Mer, an experience she described as empowering.
'I wanted to reframe what it means to be 50 plus,' she said of the photoshoot. 'I wanted to show that being sensual is still so much part of being a woman of a certain age, and that you should celebrate that.' This period of growth has also inspired her to write a self-help book titled 'Seven Lessons to Thrive In A World Of Competing Demands'.
Professionally, Lewis recently stepped down from her BBC athletics punditry role after a decade, following last summer's Paris Olympic Games. The Sydney 2000 gold medallist, who also has a 22-year-old daughter, Lauryn, from a previous relationship, is clearly focused on writing the next part of her own story.
