Tearful Nick heads home to ‘sort mess’
Crunch talks after Jessica’s ‘cruelty and abuse’ claims
NICK Knowles is cutting short a US trip to fly home for crunch talks with his estranged wife following her online attack on him.
The DIY SOS presenter, 56, had been doing charity work in America when ex Jessica Rose Moor accused him of “emotional cruelty and physical abuse”.
A friend said he is flying home from Los Angeles to talk to Jessica and “try and sort this mess out”.
They said: “Nick has been in tears over this – he is utterly shell-shocked.
“He is trying to do what’s best for his family and is devastated things have blown up the way they have.
“Despite everything, he still really cares for Jessica, not least as she is the mum of his son. He is looking forward to getting to the bottom of everything.”
The Mirror told yesterday how Jessica said she will spill the beans on the star if he breaks “a promise” to pay school fees for their son Eddie, three.
In a second blast on Twitter, Jessica wrote: “Nick may be intelligent but he is not smart.
“He now denies he withdrew his promise to send Eddie to private school but it was sent by his solicitor to mine. He has also denied cruelty but I have diaries and photographic proof.
“I want him to keep promises he made when he walked out to have a string of girlfriends. If he does not keep his promises my only option (since I can’t afford to fight it legally – which he knows) is to publish all I have.” A friend of Nick hit back at the time, saying: “Her threats are effectively blackmail.”
Her comments on Sunday came after she initially claimed to have suffered “years of intimidation, emotional cruelty, physical abuse and eventually isolation (that I have kept silent about – of which I have diaries and images).”
She added: “Since he was born, my sole priority has been Eddie’s wellbeing and I felt my silence was in his best interest. But now I have to fight, which isn’t in my nature, but I’m fighting for my son.”
Insiders told the Mirror that an agreement between the two of them could be close. A source said: “Nick’s lawyers are working around the clock to come to an agreement. It should hopefully come very soon.
“Nick is desperate to draw a line under the whole sorry saga for the sake of everyone.”
The acrimony between the couple only broke out in recent weeks.
Jessica spoke in loving terms about her husband just months before their bitter public spat.
She wrote in her Hello! Online blog last November of her “wonderful” day with Nick and Eddie at Leeds Castle.
Nick’s spokesman has previously said of Jessica’s claims: “These allegations are not true but Nick will not be responding publicly in an attempt to minimise the negative impact on his son.”
ACCUSATION Our story on Jessica’s claims TV Nick bullied and abused me says ex Nick has been in tears over this – he is shell-shocked. He still cares for Jessica FRIEND OF NICK ON STAR’S ANGUISH OVER EX’S CLAIMS