Jermaine Jenas was sacked by the BBC on Monday after a woman complained of his workplace conduct and a junior staffer raised concerns over alleged flirty texts.
Now the football pundit, 41, admitted to ‘frantically’ sending inappropriate messages to a colleague over a 24-hour period but insisted he did ‘nothing illegal’.
Although he was speaking to ‘consenting adults’, he has apologised to the women involved – one of whom allegedly gave him her number at a boozy work event.
In a lengthy interview with The Sun, Jenas also insisted: ‘I’m not a sex pest.’
The former Match of the Day presenter denied sending images or videos as part of the flirty messages.
His wife Ellie Penfold – whom he has been married to for 13 years – is ‘raging’ and has kicked him out of the bedroom. The pair are no longer on speaking terms.
Jenas fears his wife may never forgive him but is focusing on caring for their two daughters and young son.
He said he had let everyone down, including his dog who looked at him ‘disappointed’.
The ex-footballer said he has a tendency to ‘self-sabotage’ his own relationship, saying that sexting other woman may not have been a physical form of cheating but he still considers it an unfaithful act.
‘I think it would be fair to say I have a problem,’ he told The Sun. ‘I know I need help. And I am getting help.’
He continued: ‘I have made a lot of mistakes, and I am asking myself a lot of questions at the moment. I know there’s a lot of work that needs to be done, and it will be hard.’
Jenas said he is riddled with fear over losing his family and has been suffering with insomnia and anxiety since the news broke.
He said: ‘I have let myself down, my family, friends and colleagues down, and I owe everyone an apology – especially the women with whom I was messaging. I am so, so sorry.’
Jenas said he felt as though he is ‘the number one target right now in the country’ after allegations began to swirl around his sacking.
He said: ‘I don’t want to start going down the “who pursued who” road, but when people are saying things that are wrong and false information is being spread, I do have to kind of defend my space.
‘In that particular instance, there was an adult conversation that took place in a bar in London where that person made it very clear that they had an attraction to me. Yes there was alcohol involved but I take full responsibility.
‘I feel people don’t know the truth and are forming opinions about me that aren’t accurate. I wasn’t going through some kind of BBC vault trying to get women’s numbers.’
He added: ‘I’m obviously going to say I’m not a sex pest. These were consenting adults I was texting.’
The disgraced presenter spoke of his former BBC colleagues who have reached out to offer their support.
But his face dropped when he was asked about the Beeb itself, slamming their handling of the situation.
Although Jenas said he had fallen below the standard of responsibility that ‘needs to be upheld when you’re a member of the BBC’, he said he is considering suing the corporation.
The BBC informed staff of their decision to let Jenas go after the story had already been made public by news outlets.
At the time, Jenas was hosting a three-hour drive-time programme with talkSport radio, forcing him into an awkward question and answer session with his colleague Ray Parlour.
Live on national radio, the married ex-footballer said he was ‘not happy’ about his dismissal and was leaving it to his ‘team of lawyers’ who are ‘managing the situation’.
‘It’s tough,’ he said. ‘But I’ve got to listen to my lawyers.’
At one point, the former One Show Host, a favourite to replace Gary Lineker on Match of the Day, demanded the recording of the segment be stopped.
While an investigation into his behaviour continues, Jenas has had his BBC contract terminated and will no longer appear on Match of the Day or The One Show.
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm Jermaine Jenas is no longer part of our presenting line-up.’
He was last on air for the corporation earlier in the summer.
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Source: USA Today
