Vanessa Feltz says she's 'bruised' by split heartbreak as she turns 61 and her ex Ben Ofoedu shares cryptic photo

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Vanessa Feltz admitted she was feeling "battered and bruised" ahead of her 61st birthday, following her heartbreaking split from her fiance of 16 years Ben Ofoedu.

The TalkTV host and This Morning agony aunt reflected over the past 12 months, and becoming unexpectedly single after Phats & Small singer Ben cheated on her.

She wrote in her column for The Express: "What a difference 12 months makes. I started a new all-singing, all-dancing job at TalkTV after 33 years at the Beeb, embarked on Instagram and now have 330k followers, became a grandma for the fourth time when Cecily Violet was born and five weeks ago became unexpectedly single." Vanessa, who spent Valentine's Day on a healing trip to Ireland with her family, says she's "marching on" after the heartache and looking forward to the future. "I was born and bred to be married.

I grew up listening to Fiddler On The Roof with 'Matchmaker, Matchmaker' on a loop, so it’s something of an adjustment." READ MORE: EastEnders fans go wild as they think they've worked out who Sharon is getting married to in flashforward episode She added: "But I’m marching on, best foot forward in the time-honoured position, my heart a bit battered and bruised but grateful to be alive and curious about who and what the future will bring." As Vanessa was showered with love from her nearest and dearest on her birthday today (Tuesday, February 21), she told her Instagram followers that she was 'healing. "I am the birthday girl! #grateful #family #healing #birthday," she captioned a video of herself surrounded by balloons.