Former Brookside actress Ann Marie Davies has told friends of her heartache after splitting from her husband Karl Robinson, the football manager.
Ann Marie, 47, who married Karl in June 2010, is devastated after their 13-year marriage ended when he moved out of the family home.
Just weeks later, Karl, 42 – who at 29 became the youngest ever manager in Football League – was sacked from his last job with Division One fighters Oxford United.
The couple have been together for nearly 20 years and share a 17-year-old daughter, Jasmine.
The actress declined to comment on the split but told Web: “I’m going through a divorce right now. It has been a very challenging time for me and my family.’
Heartbreak: Former Brookside actress Ann Marie Davies, 47, has told friends of her heartbreak after splitting from her football manager husband Karl Robinson (pictured December 2021)
Ex: Ann Marie, who married Karl in June 2010, was devastated after their 13-year marriage ended when he moved out of the family home (Karl pictured in January).
Friends told how Ann Marie – who had retired from acting to support her husband’s career – had been devastated by the split.
One said: “They have been separated for seven months. There are many things that have happened over a long period of time.
“It has been a very difficult time for Ann Marie and her family – she has a 17-year-old daughter. There is much sorrow in relation to the family situation.
“She just wants to keep her head up and take care of herself and her daughter.”
Ann Marie starred in Brookside from 1998 to 2001, taking on the role of Katrina Evans, who ran a daycare center on the Channel 4 soap.
It was around this time that the Birkenhead-born actress met Karl, who was playing for a local football team.
She continued to appear in Doctors and Heartbeat before putting her acting career on hold when Karl got his first big job in football management in 2010, replacing Paul Ince at Milton Keynes Dons.
The appointment made Karl, who had previously coached at Liverpool youth academy and Blackburn Rovers, the youngest manager in the league.
After six years at the club, he took charge of Charlton Athletic before joining Oxford United in 2018.
Upset: The actress declined to comment on the split but told Web: “I’m going through a divorce right now. It was a very challenging time for me and my family.
He was sacked at the end of February after eight games without a win and the club are battling relegation from League One.
Ann Marie, who now runs her own business offering mental wellbeing programs, is said to have had little contact with her husband since the split.
The friend said: “Ann Marie is dealing with a difficult time in her life right now. “She was running her own life trying to focus on her work and family and just trying to get out of all the noise.
“She doesn’t know where he is because he’s here, there and everywhere. “She is not ready to say anything publicly – she would rather preserve her dignity.”
In an interview with the Liverpool Echo in 2012, Ann Marie told how, after months of separation, she moved away from Merseyside to be with her husband when he took the job in Milton Keynes – nearly 170 miles from home.
She said: “It was a decision I made to keep the family together. I was practically a single parent and it’s difficult. I’ve balanced motherhood with my own career, but it’s been difficult for him to travel back and forth.
Ann Marie, who married Karl in June 2010, admitted she struggled initially, saying: “I’m a sociable person with friends who stop by for a cup of coffee all the time and my family is in Merseyside so I missed them .
“But 12 months later I’m really enjoying it. I’ve settled in, as has our daughter Jasmine; I met new friends and of course I’m proud to be able to support Karl. I like being a football manager’s wife!’
Ann Marie, who played volleyball for England, represented the UK in Mrs Universe and won Mrs British Empire.
Upset: Friends shared how Ann Marie – who took a step back from acting to support her husband’s career – was reeling from the split (Karl pictured in January 2022)
Last year she placed second in the Ms Great Britain Classic Content for women aged 45+.
After being fired from his last job, husband Karl opened up about how his family had been bombarded with abuse during his final months at the club.
He said his mum had to leave the ground during an away game, telling the BBC 72+ podcast: “My daughter has been constantly criticized on Instagram and has been told some horrible things over the past two or three months.
“I got the old ‘it’s an integral part of what you do, you get paid for it. We’re paid to take criticism, but our families aren’t paid to listen and accept it either. But is it part of modern society? It can only be nowadays.’