Ant McPartlin sent Lisa Armstrong a bouquet of followers after their dog Hurley passed away, marking an unlikely thawing of tensions between the former couple.
Insiders told The Daily Mail the Britainâs Got Talent host, 50, organised for the flowers to be hand-delivered to Lisaâs home the day after the chocolate labrador passed away.
And the Strictly Come Dancing makeup artist, 49, was âtouchedâ by the gesture, joking to pals itâs the first time Ant has sent her flowers âin years.â
The feuding exes briefly reunited at the London vets where Hurley was put to sleep earlier this month.
The Daily Mail told how the pain of losing Hurley was too much to bear for Lisa, leaving Ant to be with the 12-year-old mutt alone before Hurley died in his arms.
However, it appears the shared pain of losing their beloved dog has brought the former couple closer together, summed up by Antâs thoughtful gift.
An insider told The Daily Mail: âLisa was really taken back by the flowers â she truly wasnât expecting anything.â
âAnt got them delivered the day after Hurley died, organising them just before he jetted to Portugal with his wife Anne-Marie and their three kids.
Lisa Armstrong, ex-wife of TV star Ant McPartlin, was sent a bouquet of flowers from the TV presenter following the death of their beloved brown Labrador, Hurley
The Iâm A Celeb host, 50, and Lisa, 49, had entered a bitter custody battle over Hurley following their split in 2018 â but were reunited last month when he had to be put down by the vet
âLisa was genuinely touched, it was a really thoughtful thing to do and she even joked to pals itâs been years since she received flowers from Ant.â
The insider added: âItâs baby steps, but itâs a sign Ant and Lisa could be civil again in the near future.â
Ant and Lisa married in 2006 but their relationship turned sour, resulting in a ÂŁ30million divorce battle in 2018.
Their feud got even ugly uglier when Ant moved on with their former PA Anne-Marie Corbett, 47, who he married in 2022. Theyâve since had son Wilder, and Ant is stepfather to Anne-Marieâs two older children.
The pair managed to agree a custody arrangement for Hurley through the courts, which saw them share the dog on a week-to-week basis.
Such was the animosity between the pair, Lisaâs mother and Antâs PA were usually involved in transporting Hurley to their respective houses, as the exes couldnât bear seeing each other.
Lisa was determined to win sole custody of Harley, especially as Ant had other Maltipoo dogs Anne-Marie, called Milo and Bumble.
The Daily Mail told last week how the pairâs beloved dog was cremated â and the exes divided his ashes in half.
The Daily Mail told how the pain of losing Hurley was too much to bear for Lisa, leaving Ant to be with the 12-year-old mutt alone before Hurley died in his arms
The former couple will each hold their own private individual memorial ceremonies for the brown Labrador.
Following Hurleyâs death jetted off to Portugal, while Lisa headed for Los Angeles, to grieve for their much loved dog.
While the pair were overseas, sources close to the couple told how they organised for Hurleyâs remains to be cremated and his ashes split in half which theyâll collect individually.
A pal said: âAnt and Lisa agreed to share Hurleyâs ashes 50/50.
âItâs a decision they felt was fair and it means theyâll both be able to hold their own farewells.
âAnt has already collected his ashes, while Lisa intends to do likewise when she returns from her trip.
âItâs likely the ashes will be buried in their own respective gardens so theyâll both be able to regularly pay their respects to Hurley.â
Now Hurley has passed, Lisa now has no links with Ant whatsoever.
Sources close to the former couple told the Daily Mail last week that Hurley has been cremated â and that his ashes have been divided in half
However, it appears the shared pain of losing their beloved dog has brought the former couple closer together, summed up by Antâs thoughtful gift
An insider said: âHurley was the only connection Lisa and Ant had, so his passing really is the end of an era.
âItâs unlikely theyâll ever speak or see each other again.
âThey have totally separate lives, different social groups.
âIn some respects, thatâs probably the only positive from Hurleyâs passing â they can now both have a clean break from one another.â
Ant credited Hurley for helping him overcome his high-profile addiction battles, which saw him spend time in rehab in 2019.
He said: âThereâs a loyalty and a love and a companionship with Hurley that you canât describe.
âHe never tells me off and is always pleased to see me.
âI came out of a shop the other day and there was a woman on the floor cuddling Hurley.
âShe said to me, âItâs the dog from the papers!â Hurleyâs a celebrity.â
Hurley enjoyed regular trips to the groomers and spent a holiday with Ant and his family last summer.
Ant once told how Hurley was allowed to visit him in rehab after his drink-drive conviction in 2018.
One of the reasons why Ant and Lisa adopted Hurley was due to their struggles to have children of their own.
And perhaps in a move which may irk his ex-wife, Ant opened up his desire to become a dad again, saying fatherhood is his âgreatest achievementâ
Ant said on his podcast: âIâve got three and Iâd have moreâ.
He added: âIt is the best, the absolute best being a dad.
And I was lucky enough to be stepdad to my girls a few years before my son was born.
âSo, I feel like I had a really great introduction to fatherhood because I got to be able to talk to them straight away.
âWe could go out and the feedback was immediate.
âAnd then when Wilder came along, I got to do all of the baby and toddler stuff that I didnât get to do with the girls.
âSo, Iâve had the best of both worlds reallyâ
He added: âIt changes you for the better.
âAll of the sleepless nights, the early mornings, the tiredness is worth it.
âItâs the greatest thing I think you can do.
âIt far surpasses anything that weâve achieved in our career.â
