Danny Cipriani has spoken out in a rare interview, claiming he was ‘hoodwinked’ by his soon-to-be ex-wife, Victoria Rose O’Callaghan.
The former couple announced their split in November last year after two years of marriage, with Victoria, 42, saying soon after that she felt ‘knifed in the heart’ after he publicly announced their breakup ‘without prior notice.’
He and Victoria had been dating for 11 months before tying the knot in an intimate ceremony in April 2021.
In the months since their divorce was filed, the healthcare campaigner claimed their split was due to the former England rugby star’s, 36, alleged drug use.
She claimed he used psychedelics so often he didn’t know ‘what is reality and what is not’. She also claimed she found messages he sent to other women that were ‘not the kind’ you want your husband sending.
While Danny has largely kept tight-lipped on the reason for the former couple’s split, he has now broken his silence in an interview with The Sun, claiming their relationship was built on ‘lies’ and ‘deceit’.
Telling the news outlet, his former wife made multiple claims about her life before him, including that she was headhunted by M15, had a multi-million-pound inheritance and once was in love with a drugs cartel boss.
He said she also claimed she worked with Chelsea footballers as a body language expert, prompting him to speak to a friend at the football club who said they had never heard of Victoria.
‘When I look back now, I realise how much she hoodwinked me. But I really wanted to believe her,’ Danny said.
He continued to say he has ‘no idea what the truth is’ and that the former couple’s marriage ended due to her ‘red flags’.
When asked about Victoria’s claims he cheated on her and sent other women messages, the retired rugby star denied the claims and said he was only ever friends with other women.
‘I never cheated on Vic. I couldn’t stay there because it was unhealthy for me.’
He added: ‘By the end of our relationship, I could not see her in the same light any more because I don’t believe she was truthful to me from the start.’
The sports star continued to say while he once was worried he would ‘end up cheating’, he completely changed his tune when he found out Victoria was pregnant in 2020.
At the time, Danny said the pair were in a casual relationship as they had only had sex a few times, but upon learning they were going to be parents, they put effort into their relationship to ‘do better for the baby’.
Devastatingly, the then-couple lost their baby, River, at 23 weeks in 2020 but found their heartbreak made them closer, resulting in their marriage the following year.
In regards to drug usage straining their marriage, Danny claimed he is no ‘angel’ and said he does smoke marijuana up to three times per month and recently drank the hallucinogenic Ayahuasca, stating it helped him ‘heal’.
Danny denied his drug usage resulted in their marriage breakdown and claimed the former couple’s relationship ended as he felt Victoria was ‘manipulating’ him. He claimed his friends and family agreed with him.
The rugby star is currently dating 90210 actress AnnaLynne McCord, 37, stating it is ‘true love, like I haven’t felt before’.
They debuted their relationship in April, with Danny sharing images from their trip to Egypt and writing, ‘My miracle… Loving you is the easiest thing in the world.’
In a now-deleted post on the social media app, Victoria wrote: ‘Nice to see my husband has moved on but his belongings and clothes in our house, in our drawers still haven’t moved on. Can you send me a miracle please? Can you answer the lawyer’s letter so I can keep my car? All the best. Lots of love your ever patient wife’.
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