Amanda Holden says husband ‘hates turning up anywhere with me’ after 16 years of marriage

Amanda Holden has said she is rarely seen with her private husband Chris Hughes as he “hates turning up anywhere with me”.

The Heart Breakfast radio presenter has been married to music producer Hughes since 2008, and the couple share two daughters.

In a new interview, Holden, 54, spoke candidly about their relationship, saying “it does still feel fresh” after 16 years despite being “very different people”.

The Britain’s Got Talent judge, who previously said they lead “separate lives” due to their work commitments, opened up about attending star-studded events without Hughes, telling The Times: “He can’t stand the limelight and hates red carpets.”

The TV star said she “forces” Hughes to appear in her Instagram posts “twice a year just to prove he exists”.

Holden admitted that “having a bit more compromise is what I’m always being told I need” in regards to their marriage and that she “only listens to him on the business side of life”.

“In other ways I’m very spontaneous and don’t listen to him at all,” she said.

Hughes, a former drummer, is a music producer for artists including Paul McCartney, Robert Plant and Tears for Fears.

Holden revealed that the couple, who met in 2006, recently locked horns after buying a £7m property in Cobham, Surrey as Hughes “had no say”.

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“All the decisions about the house are mine. He hates it and argues with me all the time and then says I was right.”

However, the TV star said they’ve “really come together” over their teenage daughters Lexi and Hollie “because we’re scared.

“ I’ll be like, ‘Did you hear what she just said?’ and Chris’ll be like, ‘Don’t fight it. Just walk away.’ It’s very trying.”

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Hughes is Holden’s second husband after Family Fortunes host Les Dennis, whom she married in 1995.

The couple famously split in 2000 when Holden’s affair with actor Neil Morrissey emerged, but rekindled their relationship soon after. They separated again in 2002 and divorced the following year.

Holden married Hughes at a Christmas-themed ceremony in December 2008 at St Margaret’s Church in Somerset. The reception was attended by stars including James Corden, Eddie Redmayne and former F1 driver David Coulthard, who was Hughes’s best man.

In April 2025, Holden paid tribute to her stillborn son Theo on what would have been his 14th birthday.

She was seven months into her pregnancy with Hughes when their son died and she had to deliver him by C-section in 2011.

Holden reflected on her experience in a 2020 documentary Dear NHS Superstars.