The Repair Shop star Jay Blades in shock split as his wife announces their 18-month marriage is over – just days after his beloved uncle was stabbed to death ‘by a neighbour’

The Repair Shop star Jay Blades‘ wife announced their shock split after just 18 months of marriage on Thursday.

Fitness instructor Lisa Marie Zbozen, 43, has said she has left the TV star, 54, – who she married in November 2022.

It comes just a day after it was revealed that Jay’s beloved uncle was allegedly stabbed to death by a neighbour following a long-running dispute over a shared alleyway. 

In a statement posted online early this morning Lisa said: ‘I don’t know how to say this because it’s still really raw.

‘I probably should be really angry but I’m just incredibly sad about the whole thing right now.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much. I will admit I’m crying as I type this as I can’t believe this is even real. I hope you don’t mind if I just have a few days trying to figure out my life as I’m currently in a spare room with a few essentials.

‘I don’t know what else to say. All my love, A very broken Lisa-Marie x.’

A representative for Jay has been contacted by MailOnline for comment. 

The couple married in Barbados in November 2022, sharing their wedding with Hello! Magazine.

Speaking about their intimate ceremony of just 15 guests, Lisa told the magazine at the time: ‘Once you get to a certain age, you realise what’s actually important on the day – and that is having the people around you that love you for who you are. So we made the day our day.’

During the ceremony, the couple exchanged bespoke wedding rings which had been created by The Repair Shop’s Richard Talman – which Lisa said was one of her favourite touches.

It was Jay’s second wedding following his marriage to ex-wife Jade. The former couple share 17-year-old daughter Zola together and split in 2015.

Their relationship sadly broke down and Jay relocated to the West Midlands. ‘I was homeless. You heard me right – yes, homeless,’ he told the Daily Star at the time. ‘Everything fell down for me. My marriage broke up, my business broke up.

‘I left my ex-wife the house and everything like that.’

Lisa is a personal trainer with decades of experience in her field, posting tough, high-intensity workouts on Instagram almost every day which show her lifting kettlebells, lunging and squatting.

She runs on-demand fitness app The Wkout, which offers programmes for fat burning, strength training and yoga.

A biography of Lisa on The Wkout’s website describes her determination as ‘no joke’.

It reads: ‘Lisa brings the FIRE every-time. Lisa’s workouts are dynamic, powerful & no two workouts are the same.’

The fitness company also describes itself as: ‘No Fad Diets, No Gimmicks & No Excuses. Just hard work & sweat.’

The relatively private couple also gave fans a glimpse into their relationship in early 2022 when Jay revealed he didn’t learn to read or write in childhood.

Appearing on BBC documentary Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51, the couple were filmed going over words for the presenter to spell out as practise.

Jay, who has revealed he received a late dyslexia diagnosis at the age of 31, asks for his other half’s help spelling the word ‘tree’ during the programme.

As she was filmed helping him, Jay says: ‘I’ve mainly got by from the help from those around me, people like Lisa.’

Although Lisa’s Instagram account is typically filled with fitness and motivational content, she often pauses her workout material to pay tribute to Jay.

On Valentine’s Day 2022 she posted a headshot of the presenter, writing: ‘Dear Universe, Thank You.’ She added the hashtag #sohandsome.

After the pair got engaged, she posted a sweet selfie of herself and Jay while he kissed her forehead, thanking loved ones for their messages of support.

Lisa wrote: ‘I’m very lucky & grateful for everything I have.’

In another post from Royal Ascot, after the couple were engaged, Lisa shared another selfie of herself with Jay dressed in their finery and wrote: ‘The very first time I met him, I said: ‘I’m going to marry that man.’

She added: ‘Thank you for challenging me to be better every day.

‘I’m not perfect by a long way, but working together, we make it as perfect as it could be. I love you completely.’

It comes after Jay‘s beloved uncle was allegedly stabbed to death by a neighbour on a quiet residential street following a long-running dispute over a shared alleyway, MailOnline revealed this week.

The Repair Shop star announced on Monday that he would be taking time away from social media to process his grief following the death of his uncle, telling his fans the shocking bereavement had left him feeling ‘messed up’.

Richard Brathwaite, 72, was found dead on Cromwell Road in Wembley around lunchtime on March 21 after his next door neighbour Derek Brown, who lived on the same street, allegedly knifed him.

Brown, also 72, is said to have launched the attack on Mr Braithwaite after accusing the victim of leaving items in the shared alleyway between their homes.

During the fatal incident, Mr Blades’ 71-year-old aunt Annetta was also injured and suffered cuts to her head and face.

The funeral for Mr Brathwaite is thought to have been held on Monday, with the BBC presenter paying tribute to his uncle, who he called a ‘really, super nice guy’ adding that the alleged killing ‘should never have happened to him’.

In an emotional video, still wearing his black suit following the service, he told his Instagram followers: ‘Hope you’re all well. This is kind of like a public service announcement. I’ve just been to my uncle’s funeral […]. 

‘Really, super nice guy, shouldn’t have happened to him, but it really affected me. I feel a little bit messed up. So what I’m intending on doing is this.

‘I’m coming off social media for a bit, and I’ll be back in a bit. Going to go and get some therapy and just chill out. Please, take care of each other, take care of yourself, and I’ll see you guys soon.’

Emergency services were called to the North London property in March but tragically pronounced Mr Brathwaite dead at 12.30pm. A man was later arrested outside Wembley Police Station.

A special post-mortem examination that took place two days later gave the victim’s cause of death as a stab injury.

A man appeared in court on March 26 where he was charged with murder, wounding with intent and possession of a bladed article in a public place.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC told the Old Bailey in March the alleged murder took place following a ‘long-running neighbour dispute between the defendant and the deceased’.

Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC set a plea hearing for June 11, scheduling a three-week provisional trial from January 27 next year.

Neighbours living on the street told MailOnline they did not know much about Mr Braithwaite who ‘kept to himself’.

Mr Blades’ video, which was captioned ‘good evening all, see you soon’, led to an outpouring of support from fans and those within the television community.

BBC and ITV presenter Julia Bradbury wrote: ‘Sorry to hear this Jay. Glad you’re taking some time out’.

Channel 4’s First Dates star Fred Sirieix posted a red heart emoji, while 5News host Claudia-Liza Vanderpuije said: ‘Look after you bro. So sorry for your loss.’

BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin added: ‘I am so sorry to hear this, sending you love xx’.

Jay, who is best known for presenting BBC’s The Repair Shop, was raised in Hackney with his mother Barbara and maternal half-brother.

The presenter, a furniture maker by trade, has seen his career flourish since BBC producers put him at the helm of the hit craft show, which restores family heirlooms to their former glory, in 2017.

He grew up in poverty after his father abandoned his much-loved mother Barbara and by the time he was in his twenties, he ended up homeless and wondering ‘is this what my life has come to?’.

The father-of-three previously said he could fit all his belongings in one carrier bag when he lived in a hostel before he was given social housing on the Victorian Peabody estate.

Jay was discovered by TV producers after they saw a short film about Out of the Dark, a charity he co-founded that taught young people how to restore and sell old furniture, after previously running community groups for youngsters.

But he became homeless as his relationship disintegrated with his ex-wife – before being discovered and elevated to TV stardom fronting The Repair Shop on its debut in 2017.

Dyslexic and unable to read, it wasn’t until the star reached 51 that he began to tackle to the illiteracy problem that had haunted him all of his adult life – after he’d found fame on the show that tapped into the nation’s obsession with heritage crafting.

Speaking about when he was homeless, Mr Blades said: ‘At 21 I was all over the place, I had no direction, I left London because I was getting into loads of fights and there were people after me.

‘My mum moved to Luton and I lived up there with her for a bit.

I had my first child, and then split up with the missus, and moved back to London, then I ended up homeless and went into a hostel.’

Jay was appointed an MBE in the 2021 Birthday Honours, for services to craft, with King Charles even appearing in a special episode.