Rhian Sugden has marked her 40th birthday with a daring Instagram photograph, posing nude with one arm held across her body to protect her modesty.
The glamour model wore only delicate jewellery and a pearl headband bearing her age in the image, which she captioned simply: “This is 40.”
She was quickly flooded with birthday messages, while her husband, actor Oliver Mellor, shared a series of photographs from their celebrations at Parr Green Hall in Cheshire.
Paying tribute to his wife, Mellor wrote: “Happy birthday to the light of our lives. Thank you for being a beautiful person and a perfect Mummy.”
He added: “You brought us all together to create unforgettable memories and we love you forever.”
The photographs included an unusual birthday cake decorated with skulls and fake blood, bearing the message “Happy Birthday Killer” rather than Sugden’s name.
The celebrations came after Sugden spoke about the abuse she says she received when her sexting scandal with Vernon Kay emerged in 2010.
Kay, who was married to television presenter Tess Daly at the time, publicly apologised after messages exchanged with Sugden came to light. He has maintained that they amounted to flirty banter and that he never acted inappropriately.
In a recent interview, Sugden said she had been “painted as a villain” and hoped turning 40 would allow her to move beyond the controversy.
“I really hope my forties will bring a new chapter where the Vernon stories can be put to bed,” she said. “For much of my life, I’ve been seen as ‘the other woman’ and painted as a villain.”
Sugden also claimed she had been spat at and had her car windscreen smashed after the scandal became public.
She previously said the episode damaged her career, telling a Channel 4 documentary in 2020: “He just got away with it. It ruined everything for me.”
Kay and Daly announced their separation in May after 23 years of marriage. They said at the time that the split was amicable and that they would continue to support their two daughters.
