JUST days before she checked into rehab, Gail Porter agreed to meet her ex-husband Dan Hipgrave and his new wife Lynsey for a picnic on London’s Hampstead Heath.
To anyone passing on that summer’s day, it must have seemed the typical extended family get-together.
For also with them as they munched sandwiches and enjoyed the sunshine was the former couple’s adorable nine-year-old daughter, Honey.
But the happy scene masked years of torment that have blighted Gail’s life and threatened to separate her from the little girl she treasures.
In an exclusive interview, today Toploader guitarist Dan speaks for the first time about his strained relationship with the troubled TV presenter, who had
her first breakdown shortly after they separated.
He reveals how he and Lynsey are doing everything they can to offer Honey stability while Gail tackles her rehabilitation.
And he tells how he advised Gail to use their daughter’s image to help her through her darkest hours.
Dan said: “I spoke to Gail just before she checked into rehab and I told her to put a picture of Honey on her bedroom wall.
“I said, ‘If you look at that picture every day, that is what is going to get you through.’
“Rehab will be tough for Gail but this is her last chance to get better and I think she knows that.
“And she has to get better. Gail has so much to live for. I keep telling her,
‘You have everything going for you. You have an amazing daughter, people who love you — and you are incredibly talented.’
“I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that if Gail can get healthy she will be able to revive her career. But she doesn’t have many more chances left —
and that is why we are keeping everything crossed for her.”
Dan, 37, opened his heart to The Sun shortly after his ex checked herself into one of the world’s toughest rehab centres last week.
As part of the radical programme, her mobile phone will be confiscated and she will have minimal contact with the outside world.
The regime will be a stern test for former Top Of The Pops presenter Gail, 41, who will only be allowed to contact little Honey through the online video
service Skype.
But it will also be an ongoing ordeal for those close to Gail who have had to pick up the pieces.
Dan said: “When anyone writes about Gail, I am portrayed as the bad guy who ruined her life or the stay-at-home dad who looks after her daughter while
she dips in and out of rehab.
“I have even been blamed for her losing her hair. For years now I have wanted to scream from the rooftops that I am not this horrible person.
“I also want people to know I am not a footnote in her life story. As tough as this has been on Gail, it was far from easy for the rest of us.”
Dan and Gail were one of the hottest couples of their generation when they married at a register office in her hometown of Edinburgh in 2001.
He was the guitarist in a band dubbed the “new Oasis” after their Dancing In The Moonlight track hit the charts. She was the TV presenter who became a
lads’ mag favourite before her naked image was beamed on to the Houses of
Parliament as part of an ad campaign.
They met during a bender organised by Chris Evans after they both appeared on his TFI Friday show.
Dan admits their relationship got caught up in Nineties excess.
He said: “That whole period was a bit of a blur, to be honest.
“I know that during our first year together we were both so busy we only saw each other about once a month. So our relationship was built on pretty flimsy foundations.
“You only have to look at the timeline of our relationship to see what a whirlwind it was.
“We got married and had Honey about a year later. Then I went straight on tour.
“Gail suffered from post-natal depression but, like many men, I struggled to recognise the symptoms.
“Then, when I came back, Gail went off to America to film Dead Famous and I stayed in London with Honey. I hardly saw her for a year.
“By this point I realised we were different people and knew the end of our relationship was near.”
Asked how bad the relationship got, Dan says: “It was fiery but I think some things should be kept private. Her personality is so big it can fill a room.
But sometimes the person who talks the loudest at a party is also the least happy.”
Dan says he and Gail broke up around a year after their daughter was born, although they did not officially divorce for a couple of years.
That same year — 2005 — Gail revealed she was suffering from the hair loss condition alopecia. She also had her first breakdown.
Despite their divorce, Dan reveals that in the midst of her crisis he was the person she called. He said: “She left a voicemail on my phone and I could tell she was not well.
“I went down to the house and she was not in a good state. I think she might have overdosed on something, although I can’t be sure.
“I called for an ambulance and they told me to make sure she stayed awake. I didn’t know what to do so I walked her around the room.”
Dan has since found happiness with Lynsey, a sports presenter for Al Jazeera Sports and BBC Radio Five Live, who he married in 2008.
Dan said: “Lynsey and I met in 2006 in north London when we were introduced by a mutual friend, Chris Moyles. We got married in Lynsey’s home town of
Newcastle where Honey was a bridesmaid.
“Lynsey is now a huge part of Honey’s life and they enjoy a really strong relationship.”
Meanwhile, 2008 saw a “defining moment” in Gail’s life when she was sectioned after her then boyfriend Jonny Davies reported she was suicidal. She claims she was never serious about taking her own life.
But Dan says: “I have to take my hat off to Jonny. He was the first person who forced her to get help.”
He says he and his wife have provided a level of stability in Honey’s life that Gail appreciates. The couple are now leaving London to live in the countryside with his daughter. But Dan insists this has nothing to do with his ex’s problems.
He said: “I would never stop Gail from seeing Honey. Gail likes it that Lynsey gets on so well with Honey.
“Just before Gail went to rehab we all went to Hampstead Heath together for a picnic and Honey and Gail had a really nice time.”
He added: “Gail has been in and out of rehab this year, but obviously it has not worked for her. Honey has dealt with it remarkably well.
“Gail has to complete this programme then stay healthy. I’ve told her, ‘When you get back I want to see the new Gail Porter.’
“Gail and Honey have a very special relationship. I know she is not going to let that bond slip away.
“And I honestly cannot wait for the day when she is better.”
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