Louise Redknapp’s heartbreak at Jamie’s shock wedding

We can only imagine the moment Louise Redknapp saw pictures of her ex-husband Jamie emerging from Chelsea Registry Office, clutching the hand of new bride Frida. With beaming smiles, the pair headed to exclusive restaurant Scott’s in central London for their reception, joined by friends, family, and Jamie and Louise’s two sons – Charley, 17, and Beau, 12. Frida – who quickly changed her Instagram name from Andersson to Redknapp – wore a bespoke Emilia Wickstead off-the-shoulder gown, which highlighted her baby bump. The 37 year old is due to have her and Jamie’s first child together next month – a boy. She also has four children from her previous marriage.

And while congratulations poured in for the happy couple, we’re told Louise was absolutely heartbroken at the news – particularly as she only found out a short time before, as her sons were part of the day. “Louise is devastated, but she’s trying to put on a brave face for the sake of the kids and everyone around her,” an insider close to the 46 year old tells heat. “She’s said that, even though Jamie told her it was on the cards, she was blindsided by it happening so soon. She doesn’t understand what the rush was or what they are trying to prove by having a surprise wedding.”

Jamie’s dad Harry posted on Instagram to congratulate his son and new daughter-in-law, sharing a picture of them cutting the cake. He captioned the picture, “What a day we had sharing your special day.” Jamie’s brother Mark and his wife Lucy Bolton, as well as their cousin, Frank Lampard, and his wife Christine were also in attendance.

Jamie, 48, and Frida only recently went Instagram-official, posting pictures from a holiday together in Greece. So, it’s no wonder that Louise reportedly didn’t even know the couple were engaged. We’re told she was particularly devastated to see Frida add “Redknapp” to her Instagram profile and is now considering going back to her maiden name.

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“Louise has said it’s like having to go through the grieving process for her marriage all over again,” our source says. “It took her years to get over it. It feels embarrassing having Jamie’s last name now someone else has it. But part of her doesn’t want to let it go right away – there is so much apprehension attached to the situation. She thought she’d have the name for a few more years yet at least – she never really envisioned it being an issue. But now she is having to talk with her management about going back to Louise Nurding for her career.”

Louise and Jamie were married for 19 years before splitting in 2017, after her stint on Strictly Come Dancing, and their divorce was finalised just a year later. At the time, it was rumoured that her close partnership with Strictly pro partner Kevin Clifton was to blame, but in her book released earlier this year – You’ve Got This: And Other Things I Wish I Had Known – she quashed those rumours. “It’s not real,” she wrote. “Once the show finishes, you move on. You go, ‘OK, we weren’t that good friends!’” In the book she was also incredibly candid about her marriage to Jamie, admitting she had regrets over not speaking up about their issues. “I wish I’d tried. I want to say to anyone thinking of running: Just slow down. Don’t run. Because once you run too fast, you can’t make up the ground you’ve lost. Stop, say what you need, say what you think, don’t be afraid to say what’s really going on. You don’t have to be quiet.”

Describing what she wished she’d told Jamie, she wrote, “For a long time, I ticked all the boxes of being the ‘picture-perfect’ wife. The truth? For a lot of that time, I actually felt lonely, anxious and unimportant. Looking back, I wish I’d sat down and really tried to explain how much I was struggling, how unimportant I felt in our lives together and how depressed this made me feel. I wish I was honest and said I felt unloved. I never spoke about how things were at home to a single soul.”

Concerning her time on Strictly – which she has previously said had “switched a light back on” after spending two decades “pleasing everyone, and thinking I should always do the right thing by staying at home, looking after my kids and my husband” – she even went as far as to say, “If I’d done [Strictly] four years earlier, this wouldn’t have happened. I wouldn’t have walked away from my marriage.’

There was even a point when it seemed that Jamie and Louise might reunite. Last year, before Jamie and Frida made their relationship public, both he and Louise were happily complimenting each other publicly. Jamie called Louise a “brilliant mum”, saying, “Louise does a great job with the boys. We do the best that we can and try to be tough but fair.” In an interview last year discussing the divorce, Louise called Jamie her “everything”, saying, “I’ve known Jamie since I was a teenager. He was my everything, and suddenly he wasn’t any more. It’s a tough thing to go through.” She added that she hoped they could be “best friends” in future. But now, we’re told Louise feels this is the definitive end to their relationship.

“She doesn’t want to feel alone and pushed out in the wilderness, and just move out of the way for Frida,” our insider says. “Nineteen years together is a really long time, and so much of that marriage was part of her identity – to her, it feels cruel that, not only has Jamie moved on so quickly, but that they’ve made it official by getting married. The door has slammed shut on her. Her friends are all rallying around and trying to take her mind off the situation, but she hasn’t really felt like she wanted to be around anyone. She’s grateful for her work and really wants to continue recording music and acting in the theatre, but now it feels weird pushing forward using Redknapp as a stage name.”

Last week, Louise was pictured looking downcast as she left the press night for her musical 9 To 5, and our source tells us it might be a while before she has a smile on her face again. “Lou wants to find it in her heart to just be happy for them but it’s hard. She feels she got a rough deal, and that Jamie just doesn’t seem to care about her feelings any more.”

The source adds, “She’ll always love him, because he’s the father of her kids – but it feels brutal and raw for her right now. She’s been a total mess.”

Read more in the latest issue of heat magazine – OUT NOW.