EXCLUSIVEGladiator Jet's estranged wife tells her side of the story in VERY ugly split, reveals the star's 'hurtful' actions... and how she has found comfort in an unlikely place
The estranged wife of Gladiator Jet has angrily hit back at claims her jealousy ended their turbulent marriage - and revealed she's being comforted by two of the nineties pin-up's female former lovers.
Zoe Gilbert, 50, was rocked by the 'hurtful' claims of her ex - real name Diane Youdale - that her unreasonable behaviour was to blame for the split.
Diane has exclusively revealed to MailOnline that she attacked her wife and Zoe has now confirmed the separation was acrimonious and there was no way they could remain friends.
The ex Gladiator accused Zoe of chasing her 'like a wolf' and claims she's now 'trying to make herself famous'.
But Zoe hit back at her ex and denied that she was jealous or possessive - and revealed how she has found solace in an unlikely friendship with Jet's two former partners, Sonia Strong and Lisa Nottingham.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline at the couple's former marital home, a neat semi in Stockton, Zoe said: 'What Diane said about me was hurtful when she claimed that my jealousy broke up the marriage.
'I was not jealous, but I had to see it in black and white in the newspapers before I found out the truth.'
It is all so different to when Zoe got together with Diane, 54, in a whirlwind romance after meeting in Tesco when the couple enjoyed love at first sight and were happy to tell the world about their blossoming relationship.
Zoe Gilbert, 50, (L) was rocked by the 'hurtful' claims of her ex - real name Diane Youdale - that her unreasonable behaviour was to blame for the split
Diane (R) has admitted to picking up dangerous habits during her time with Zoe, including developing a reliance on alcohol
During her darkest days amid the sudden breakdown of her marriage, Diane says she found solace in remembering her late father, who she feels has been watching over her (pictured in 2019)
Back then Zoe said she thought she was Jet's first female lover.
In an interview at the time, Diane said: 'I have lots of gay female friends but I haven't dated any of them. So Zoe was the first I dated.'
However Zoe, an educator who works with past offenders, suspected that her new wife wasn't telling the truth and quizzed her about her 'friendship' with Sonia and Lisa.
But it wasn't until Sonia, 39, broke her silence in August 2023 - just a month after Diane and Zoe tied the knot - that Zoe was given real cause for concern.
Sonia claimed she and Jet had been in a same-sex relationship for seven years and that she'd dated Lisa after that.
In August 2023, former Miss England contestant Sonia told of her shock that Diane was claiming to be in her first lesbian relationship with Zoe.
She said: 'I didn't know whether to laugh, scream or cry when I read that Diane was supposedly with her first ever woman.
'The way she told it, it was as if she had stumbled across lesbianism in the cereal aisle at Tesco.
Diane also dated Sonia Strong for seven years before meeting Zoe in a supermarket
'But we were in a relationship from 2012 to 2019 so how this latest woman can be her first is beyond me.'
It spelled the end of her short marriage - but the beginning of a friendship with Diane's incredulous exes.
Zoe said: 'I am in contact with these exes, so whatever claims have been made about my jealousy is nonsense. They are her exes but I'm in contact, they are friends.
'I have had a year of support from both Lisa and Sonia since the marriage ended, I am in contact with them every day.'
Asked whether she and Diane had been able to stay friends, she said: 'No, I can say for certain we are not friends.'
Their bitter split has erupted into a furious war of words, with Diane admitting she assaulted Zoe, but only because she was pushed to the brink by 'bullying.'
She said: 'I was bait, I feel baited, I feel like I was chased by a wolf. I was absolutely played and now she's trying to make herself famous because of it.
'I am sickened to the core by her allegations. She wants to bring me down and dance on my grave.'
Diane and Zoe appeared on ITV's Lorraine last year where they spoke about their love for each other (pictured in 2023)
Zoe told MailOnline: 'What Diane said about me was hurtful when she claimed that my jealousy broke up the marriage. I was not jealous, but I had to see it in black and white in the newspapers before I found out the truth'
Super-fit Diane, who is now a counsellor and exercise coach, said she became 'suicidal' as her marriage crumbled (pictured in 1995)
Describing how their relationship turned violent, Diane said: 'Eventually, I snapped. She fell over the back of the sofa. I pressed on her chest three times firmly and I said, 'stop this now'. I can't remember what happened then. The next thing I knew I was being led out by the police.
'The living room was an absolute mess, there was coffee up the walls, writing all over the walls. She is claiming that I did all that, but I didn't. I'm unsure what level of amnesia I must have had to block it out.'
The incident, which took place in 2023, happened at Zoe's home where Diane lived until the couple ended their relationship. Although Diane was spoken to by the police, no action was taken.
She claims the nature of their romance made her feel so low that she contemplated ending her life.
MailOnline exclusively revealed last week that Diane and Zoe's marriage was over.
The couple had a romantic 'meet cute' in Stockton's Tesco superstore in 2022 after Zoe plucked up the courage to go over and speak to the 90s telly hero - an incident Diane now believes was carefully planned.
They announced their relationship live on a 2023 podcast hosted by American Gladiator Lori Fetrick, better known as Ice.
She told Lori: 'Just over a year ago a gorgeous lady approached me in my local supermarket and asked me if I was....[Jet] And over a year later we are going to get married.'
Jet, pictured alongside original Gladiators hosts Ulrika Jonsson and John Fashanu, starred on the long running series from 1992 to 1996
Diane was previously in a relationship with former Gladiator co-star Hunter, real name James Crossley, during the show's heyday
Lorie asked her: 'Does your country know this?' To which Diane replied: 'Probably not and I don't care, we are what we are and it doesn't matter, I don't give a damn.'
She added: 'I am safe and I am loved, there is no threat to me any more and that is what means the world to me.'
However last week she told how the relationship quickly soured and came to a sad end after just 18 months.
Diane said: 'I became a bit of a passenger, I'm usually independent, proactive, and there's things I like to do, like walking, but I stopped doing all that. She would say 'what about Sonia? What about Lisa?' These are exes, professionally and personally.
'I was like: "I don't go on at you about your past, I'm not insecure about that." But it was endless. I lost 'me' really quickly. And that is possibly something I've done in relationships in the past as well.
'What is the point in being with somebody in the now and having a future ahead of you if all you want to do is talk about that person's past?'
