Richard Keys, 68, spent 13 years working in the UAE alongside his long-standing presenting partner Andy Gray before moving to Qatar. He married Lucie Rose in 2023, seven years after his divorce from Julia, to whom he had been married for 34 years. Keys and Rose met at a golf event in Qatar, but Rose declined to relocate to the Middle East, opting instead to wait until Keys returned to the UK after leaving beIN Sports this summer. The specific escalating tensions in the Middle East that prompted his early return remain unclear.
Controversy surrounds Keys' personal life, with allegations of an affair with Rose emerging during Julia's recovery from thyroid cancer. According to Daily Express - Sport, Richard Keys described that Julia had been in remission for seven years before their marriage collapsed. Julia challenges Keys' assertions in her book, The MANScript, claiming the affair had a profound effect on the entire family. She stated that the affair devastated her and their children's worlds, with Keys later admitting to the affair and its damage.
I've never sat with anybody and talked about this, but I didn't leave Julia dying of cancer, or suffering with cancer. Sadly, she had cancer in 2008 and '09, and we ran into a genius surgeon who removed it.
Keys is said to have become estranged from his daughter Jemma following the alleged affair, which reportedly worsened her struggle with alcoholism. According to Daily Express - Sport, Richard Keys refuted the closeness of the relationship between Rose and Jemma. The current relationship status between Keys and his daughter is not detailed.
Richard's affair didn't just devastate my world, but the world of our children Jemma and Josh too. It is only now, two years on, that he has admitted he did have an affair with Lucie, as well as acknowledging his deceit and the damage it has caused.
What's damaging is that people presume I ran away with my daughter's best mate, locked her in a room, and gave her no choice about whether she wanted to be with me or not. All of which is nonsense. Lucie's one of the most powerful, strong-minded individuals you'll come across. She's deeply passionate a