Shane Richie and his wife Christie Goddard have officially divorced after 19 years of marriage, according to reports.
Their marriage was said to have been finalised on July 23 – just six days before the actor, 62, had a row with petrol station staff when he was challenged at the Tesco petrol station in Harlow, Essex, after he was seen vaping.
After police attended the scene, Shane was charged with drink-driving and is set to appear in court next month.
The split was said to have been prompted by Christie, 47, getting ‘fed-up with his spiralling behaviour’.
‘Christie was at the end of her tether with Shane and had had enough. The divorce was her decision and she pursued it after talking it through with relatives. She had put up with a lot over the years and has had a really hard time of things lately,’ a source told The Sun.
‘There was not one specific incident that led to the end, but a build-up of things. She got fed up with his behaviour and did not take the decision lightly.
Shane Richie and his wife Christie Goddard have officially divorced after 19 years of marriage, according to reports
‘There is a feeling he has been working hard and playing hard and that his behaviour has spiralled a bit.’
There had been reported questions over their marriage after it was previously claimed that Christie was terminated as director of their joint company Bluebelle Skye Productions in June so now has no control over the business empire they have run together since 2017.
The source added Christie hasn’t kicked him out of their £2million family home and that her main concern is their three children.
They claimed she was ‘shocked’ by Shane’s drink-drive arrest and hopes it will be a ‘wake-up call’ for the actor.
Shane was challenged after he was seen vaping at the Tesco petrol station in Harlow, Essex on July 29.
Footage of the incident, which unfolded just after 11pm, saw the actor being told he could not smoke on the premises.
Brandishing the vape, he replied: ‘It’s not smoking.’ Upon realising he was being filmed, the EastEnders star then claimed: ‘This is not a vape.’
After staff told him the vape ‘is a risk’, the actor, while reaching back inside his car and with his back to the employee, said: ‘I don’t give a f***.’
As the manager of the petrol station phoned police, claiming Richie was being ‘aggressive’, the TV soap star told the man filming: ‘Someone’s coming to change my tyre.’
Their marriage was said to have been finalised on July 23 – just six days before the actor, 62, had a row with petrol station staff when he was challenged at a Tesco petrol station
Shane, who plays Alfie Moon on EastEnders , and Christie married in 2007, after meeting in 2001 (pictured 2005)
Police were later seen arriving at the forecourt.
He was arrested and later charged with drink-driving. He is set to appear in court next month.
It is a criminal offence to smoke a cigarette at a petrol station due to the danger posed by sparks in the proximity of fuel, which is highly flammable.
It is not a specific offence to vape on forecourts, but petrol station companies strictly prohibit it over concerns about the same risk.
Shane, who plays Alfie Moon on EastEnders, and Christie married in 2007, after meeting in 2001.
They met by chance after heading to a local pub while he was doing panto in Wimbledon, London.
Shane sweetly revealed that he knew it was love at first sight as he exclaimed upon meeting Christie: ‘I’ve just met my future wife!’ during his appearance on I’m A Celebrity.
Discussing their happiest moments with his campmates, the actor recalled: ‘I remember the moment, I was doing Panto in Wimbledon, I came off stage, my mate said to me, “We’re going across the road to the pub.”
‘Walked in, there was four or five people, she said, “Come and say hello to some friends”.
‘She went, “Shane this is Christie, Christie this is Shane.” At the moment I went, “I’ve just met my future wife.”‘
Christie has also previously recalled the moment she met Shane, as she told the Standard: ‘I first met him when he was in Jack and the Beanstalk in Wimbledon. I was in Cinderella in Croydon.
‘A friend took me to meet him and there he was all in green tights and a little green suit.’
He was previously married to Loose Women star Coleen Nolan from 1990-1999. They share son Shane, 37. Shane was unfaithful to Coleen during the marriage (pictured 1997)
Shane has had a complicated past with his relationships and was previously married to Loose Women star Coleen Nolan from 1990-1999. They share son Shane, 37.
Shane was unfaithful to Coleen during the marriage.
In 1996 Shane had an affair with dancer Claire Tyler while married to Coleen, and admitted his deception in his 2003 autobiography Rags to Richie: The Story So Far.
Shane once confessed: ‘I lost my first wife through my drinking. A bottle of Jack Daniel’s and I was off.’
Shane is best known for his EastEnders role, having appeared on the soap for multiple stints since 2002, and his character has currently been part of the line-up since 2022.
He portrayed Alfie Moon again in a six-part spin-off Redwater in 2017.
The Daily Mail has contacted Shane’s representative for comment.
