Actor Shane Richie and his wife Christie Goddard have officially divorced after 19 years of marriage, according to reports, just six days before he was arrested for drink-driving following a petrol station row in Harlow, Essex.
The couple's marriage was finalised on July 23, less than a week before police were called to a forecourt altercation involving the 62-year-old soap star.
Richie, best known for playing Alfie Moon on the BBC drama EastEnders, was charged with drink-driving following the incident and is scheduled to appear in court next month.
Spiralling behaviour and corporate split
The separation was reportedly initiated by Goddard, 47, who had grown weary of Richie's spiralling behaviour after enduring years of strain.
A source told The Sun: "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."
"There was not one specific incident that led to the end, but a build-up of things," the source added. "She got fed up with his behaviour and did not take the decision lightly."
Addressing Richie's lifestyle, the source explained: "There is a feeling he has been working hard and playing hard and that his behaviour has spiralled a bit."
Questions regarding the state of their marriage first arose when Goddard was terminated in June as a director of their joint firm, Bluebelle Skye Productions, leaving her without control over the business empire they had managed together since 2017.
Despite the divorce, Goddard has not asked Richie to leave their 2 million pound family home, with sources noting that her primary focus remains the wellbeing of their three children.
The insider added that Goddard was shocked by Richie's drink-driving arrest and hopes the legal situation serves as a wake-up call for the actor.
Forecourt confrontation and police response
The police response was triggered by an incident at a Tesco petrol station in Harlow, Essex, shortly after 11pm on July 29, where Richie was confronted for vaping near the fuel pumps.
Video footage of the confrontation showed forecourt staff informing the actor that smoking was strictly prohibited on the premises.
Brandishing his vape, Richie answered, "It's not smoking," before adding, "This is not a vape," once he noticed he was being recorded by a bystander.
When an employee warned him that vaping still posed a risk at a petrol station, Richie reached back into his car with his back turned to the worker and said, "I don't give a f***."
The petrol station manager subsequently phoned police, stating that Richie was acting in an aggressive manner, while Richie remarked to the person filming: "Someone's coming to change my tyre."
Under UK safety laws, smoking cigarettes at a petrol station is a criminal offence due to the severe danger of igniting highly flammable fuel vapour.
Although vaping on petrol station forecourts is not a specific statutory offence, fuel retailers strictly forbid the use of electronic cigarettes over similar safety hazards.
Police officers arrived at the Harlow forecourt shortly afterwards and arrested Richie, later charging him with drink-driving ahead of his court appearance next month.
Romance from pantomime to marriage
Richie and Goddard first met in 2001 when he was appearing in a pantomime production of Jack and the Beanstalk in Wimbledon, South London, while she was performing in Cinderella in nearby Croydon.
Recalling their first encounter, Goddard previously 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."
Richie also shared his memory of their meeting while appearing on the ITV reality series I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, describing it as love at first sight.
Speaking to his campmates, Richie 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'."
After dating for several years, Richie and Goddard married in 2007 and subsequently raised three children together during their 19-year relationship.
Past relationships and television career
Before his marriage to Goddard, Richie had a high-profile marriage to Loose Women panellist Coleen Nolan from 1990 to 1999, with whom he shares a 37-year-old son, also named Shane.
Richie was unfaithful to Nolan during their marriage, including an affair in 1996 with dancer Claire Tyler, which he later documented in his 2003 autobiography Rags To Richie: The Story So Far.
The actor has previously spoken candidly about the impact of alcohol on his personal life, once confessing: "I lost my first wife through my drinking. A bottle of Jack Daniel's and I was off."
Richie remains best known for his role as Alfie Moon on EastEnders, having appeared in multiple stints since joining the soap in 2002 and returning as a regular cast member in 2022.
He also reprised the character of Alfie Moon in Redwater, a six-part drama spin-off series broadcast in 2017.
Representatives for Richie have been contacted by the Daily Mail for comment regarding his divorce and recent arrest.
