James Haskell has joined the new series of Celebs Go Dating, and the former rugby player says he only signed up after encouragement from his ex-wife, Chloe Madeley. Haskell said he was initially unsure about taking part, but Madeley pushed him to go ahead with it.

The move puts a split that has already played out in public back into view. Haskell and Madeley ended their near-decade relationship in 2023, two years after welcoming their daughter, Bodhi Rae Georgia Haskell, and the pair have continued to co-parent since then.

Haskell said Madeley remains a close part of his life. “She’s my good friend and my co-parent, and we’re very transparent with each other. I feel lucky to have that kind of trust and support. It makes everything feel collaborative, and it’s a relationship I truly value,” he said.

Their history gives the new appearance extra weight. Haskell and Madeley first connected through social media in 2014, when he sent her a Spongebob meme on Twitter. Madeley later said she agreed to meet him after seeing him make a fool of himself in front of his 110,000 followers, and added that when he kissed her goodnight, “it was game over.”

The couple dated for four years before Haskell proposed to Madeley on holiday in Paris in 2018. They married later that year in Berkshire, and in August 2022 welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Bodhi Rae Georgia Haskell. By 2023, the relationship had ended, and Madeley later described the months leading up to the breakup as incredibly scary.

Haskell has also been direct about his part in the separation, saying his drinking habits contributed to it. That admission sits uneasily beside the way he now describes his relationship with Madeley, but it also explains why his decision to go on a dating show is landing as more than a light reality-TV turn.

Celebs Go Dating has returned for another series on E4, with Anna Williamson, Paul C. Brunson and Dr. Tara Suwinyattichaiporn on the expert panel. Other participants this season include Lucinda Light, Coleen Nolan, Gabby Allen, Professor Green, PK Humble and David Potts.

Haskell and Madeley also previously appeared on their own ITV reality show, Chloe Madeley: A Family Affair, and the couple chose not to share more details of their split at the time in order to protect their privacy for their daughter. What the new appearance makes clear is that this is no clean break from the past: Haskell is back in the dating arena, but the person who helped push him there is still the one he has to live with as a co-parent.