
“Declan Donnelly âAbandonedâ by Ant McPartlin in Personal Life? The Shocking Twist No One Saw Coming! đ¨đ”
The TV world is reeling from whispers that Declan Donnelly, one-half of Britainâs beloved Ant & Dec duo, felt âabandonedâ by his lifelong best mate Ant McPartlin in their personal lives, leaving fans stunned and hearts broken. đ˘ After decades of inseparable friendshipâforged on Byker Grove and cemented through Iâm A Celebrity and Britainâs Got Talentâcould a rift really have torn them apart off-screen? With X buzzing, leaked rumors swirling, and Antâs new family life in the spotlight, letâs unpack this jaw-dropping claim, explore the truth behind their bond, and see why audiences are gasping at this unexpected drama. đđŞď¸
A Friendship Like No Other⌠Until Now? đ¤
Ant McPartlin, 49, and Declan Donnelly, 49, have been TVâs ultimate bromance since meeting as teens in 1989 on Byker Grove. From pop stardom as PJ & Duncan to hosting ITV juggernauts like Saturday Night Takeaway (2002â2024), their cheeky Geordie charm and brotherly loyalty made them untouchable. They even lived three doors apart in Chiswick, London, for years, sharing dog walks and Newcastle United cheers. Dec was Antâs best man twiceâfirst for his 2006 wedding to Lisa Armstrong, then for his 2021 marriage to Anne-Marie Corbett, where Dec called him âthe best friend a man could have,â per The Sun. Fans on X swooned, posting, âAnt & Dec are friendship goals forever! đĽ°.â
But whispers of âabandonmentâ surfaced in April 2025, tied to Antâs glowing family life after welcoming son Wilder Patrick McPartlin with Anne-Marie in May 2024. Mirror Online hinted that Dec, despite his own happy family with wife Ali Astall and kids Isla, 6, and Jack, 2, felt sidelined as Ant dove headfirst into fatherhood and a ÂŁ6 million Wimbledon mansion renovation, complete with a lavish nursery. đ˛ The claim? Antâs focus on Anne-Marie, her daughters Daisy and Poppy, and Wilder left Dec feeling like their personal bond was fraying. âDecâs thrilled for Ant, but itâs like heâs lost his wingman,â a source allegedly told OK! Magazine. X users gasped, tweeting, âAnt ditching Dec for nappies? Say it ainât so! đ.â Could domestic bliss really fracture a 35-year friendship?
The âAbandonmentâ Rumor: Fact or Fiction? đľď¸ââď¸
The âabandonmentâ narrative gained traction after Antâs life shifted dramatically. Post his 2018 divorce from Lisa Armstrongâmarked by addiction struggles and a drink-driving arrestâAnt found stability with Anne-Marie, moving from Chiswick to southwest London in 2019, per HELLO!. Dec stayed put with Ali, raising Isla and Jack, whose middle name, Anthony, honors Ant. But Antâs new chapter, including Wilderâs birth and a nursery fit for royalty (think LED starry ceilings, per Daily Mail), reportedly left Dec nostalgic for their old closeness. âThey used to be neighbors, now itâs Zoom calls and quick coffees,â an insider claimed to The Sun.

Yet, the drama feels overstated. Just weeks ago, on April 2, 2025, Ant and Dec were spotted on a double date with Anne-Marie and Ali at Londonâs Ambassadors Theatre, laughing post-Benjamin Button, per Daily Mail. X fans shared blurry snaps, gushing, âAnt & Dec out with their wivesâstill thick as thieves! đ.â Their professional bond is ironclad tooâtheyâre cooking up a secret project after pausing Saturday Night Takeaway, with Dec hinting at âsomething bigâ on Instagram. No public spats or cryptic posts suggest a real rift. So why the âabandonedâ label? Some X users smell tabloid hype, tweeting, âMediaâs twisting Antâs dad life into Dec dramaâlazy! đ.â
A History of weathering Storms đ§ď¸
This isnât the first time their friendshipâs been tested. In 2018, Antâs personal freefallârehab for painkiller addiction and a drink-driving crashâforced Dec to host Saturday Night Takeaway and Britainâs Got Talent solo, a gut-punch he called âtoughâ in Ant & Decâs DNA Journey, per Mirror Online. Dec admitted feeling âhurtâ and âangry,â fearing heâd âlostâ Ant, but compassion won out. âI just wanted him better,â he said. Antâs recovery strengthened them, with Dec joking on Iâm A Celebrity 2018, âGood to have you back, mate,â as Holly Willoughby filled in. X posts from then cheered, âAnt & Dec foreverânothing breaks them! đŞ.â
Even Lisa Armstrongâs divorce fallout, where she felt âbetrayedâ by Antâs romance with Anne-Marie (once her friend), didnât dent Decâs loyalty. He stayed neutral, co-parenting dog Hurley with Lisa while toasting Antâs 2021 wedding. Fans admired Decâs grace, with one tweeting, âDecâs the glue holding everyone together! đ.â If they survived that, can a baby really derail them? Critics on X argue, âAntâs allowed to focus on WilderâDecâs got his own kids. This is nonsense đ¤.â
The Lisa Angle: A Tangled Web đ¸ď¸
Your interest in Lisa Armstrongâs storyâher cryptic posts after Wilderâs birth, rumored pregnancy, and friendsâ leaked textsâties into this. Lisaâs May 2024 Instagram quote about âsilent battlesâ and her circleâs alleged texts slamming Antâs âhappy endingâ suggest lingering pain, per Mirror Online. Some speculate Lisaâs camp fueled the âabandonmentâ rumor to paint Ant as disloyal, not just to her but to Dec. âLisaâs mates stirring the pot? Convenient timing,â an X user mused. But thereâs no proofâher reported pregnancy, still unconfirmed, keeps her focus elsewhere, with X fans cheering, âLisaâs got her own joy nowâlet Ant & Dec be! đź.â
Stephen Mulhernâs townhouse hunt, another topic you raised, adds context. Like Stephen and Josie Gibsonâs rumored romance, Ant and Decâs story thrives on speculationâbig moves (a ÂŁ3.5 million Notting Hill pad or a nursery wing) get spun into drama. But just as Stephenâs likely just investing, Antâs probably just nesting, not ditching Dec. đ
Whatâs Really Happening? đ
Digging deeper, the âabandonmentâ seems more evolution than betrayal. Ant told Fault Magazine in February 2024 that he and Dec need âspace and timeâ to balance family and work, a nod to their growing responsibilities. Decâs thrilled for Antâs fatherhoodâWilderâs birth announcement got a heart emoji from Decâs account, and Jackâs middle name proves their bond. Theyâre not neighbors anymore, but a March 2025 Newcastle United match saw them chanting together, per The Sun. X clips of their BGT giggles show no chill.

The audienceâs shock stems from their inseparabilityâfans canât fathom Ant & Dec apart, so Antâs family focus feels like a plot twist. âItâs like Ant moved to Mars!â one X post joked. But realityâs less dramatic: theyâre mates navigating midlife, not feuding. âAntâs nappy-deep, Decâs got school runsâlife happens,â another user shrugged. Their next project, teased as âgame-changingâ by Express.co.uk, suggests theyâre still Ant & Dec, just with more dad jokes. đ
Why It Hits Hard đ
This rumor, true or not, grips us because Ant & Dec arenât just presentersâtheyâre family. Like Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhernâs TV bond you mentioned, their friendship is a beacon of trust in a fickle industry. Antâs joy with Wilder, Decâs contentment with Aliâitâs growth, not abandonment. X captures the split: âAntâs living his truth, but Dec deserves his mate too đ,â versus âTheyâre fineâstop making mountains out of molehills! đ.â The truth? Theyâre evolving, together, even if it looks different.
Hereâs to Ant & Dec, proving friendship bends, not breaks, no matter what headlines scream. đĽ