Richard Keys’ wife defends 31-year age gap after marrying her friend’s dad

Former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys (Picture: beIN SPORTS)

Richard Keys’ wife Lucie Rose has spoken for the first time about marrying the controversial former Sky Sports presenter.

Keys, 68, and Rose, 36, tied the knot in 2023, seven years after the TV presenter separated from his first wife, Julia.

Keys’ first marriage lasted 34 years and the pair had two children together, Jemma and Josh.

Marrying someone 32 years his junior, who was friends with his daughter, led to criticism of Keys but he insists he has ‘never felt’ the big age gap.

‘It baffles people, but I don’t feel it. I never have,’ Keys told The Telegraph.

‘I knew I wanted to be with Lucie, but I couldn’t emotionally get there. It took me forever to change course.

‘It was only the result of Lucie’s patience, and my sister Susan’s belief that she has always known what’s right for me. So, it wasn’t an overnight thing at all. The hurt is something you don’t want to inflate.

Keys fronted Sky Sports for almost two decades (Picture: Getty)

‘I never expected my marriage would end after 34 years, but Lucie bowled into my life and, wow, what a force of nature. And the rest is history.’

Responding to Keys saying he has ‘never felt’ the age gap with his second wife, Lucie said: ‘That’s because you’re my adult toddler.’

It was suggested, mainly on social media, that Julia had cancer at the time of the divorce but Keys insists this was not the case.

Keys, 68, also dismissed claims his current partner Lucie, who was friends with his daughter Jemma, was coerced into the relationship.

‘What’s damaging is that people presume I ran away with my daughter’s best mate, locked her in a room, and gave her no choice about whether she wanted to be with me or not,’ he added.

‘All of which is nonsense. Lucie’s one of the most powerful, strong-minded individuals you’ll come across. She’s deeply passionate about women’s rights. People see me as an easy target, but the narrative is not fair on her.

‘It’s totally wrong.’

Keys’ second wife Lucie is a partner in private funds at Proskauer Rose, one of the largest New York law firms.

Keys fronted Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage for almost two decades before leaving the company in 2011 after making derogatory comments about female assistant referee Sian Massey.

His long-term co-presenter Andy Gray also left Sky Sports after more clips were leaked showing both behave in a sexist manner.

‘Prehistoric banter isn’t acceptable in the modern world. I accept that,’ Keys said at the time. ‘We failed to change when the world has changed.’

Asked about Keys’ previous conduct, Rose said: ‘For me, the most important thing is people’s ability to change and evolve.

‘If I had met someone who was trying to justify that culture, there wouldn’t have been anywhere for us to go. But that wasn’t the person I met.

‘I met someone who was traumatised, to an extent, by the culture he lived through. Except somehow he is marked as being the cause of it. I don’t think that’s fair – it’s not who he is.’

Keys worked in Qatar for sports broadcaster beIN SPORTS for a decade before leaving that role and returning to the UK earlier this month.

Now back living with wife Lucie, Keys said he would be ‘very open’ to the possibility of having another child at the age of 68.

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