Rugby and TV star James Haskell has stepped out at Cheltenham Festival with a former Big Brother star as they were spotted holding hands after his split from Chloe Madeley

James Haskell has attended Cheltenham Festival with a former Big Brother star following his split from Chloe Madeley.

The former rugby star stepped out at the prestigious horse racing festival this afternoon in a three-piece blue suit. He arrived with a mystery brunette woman, who he held hands with while at the track. She has now been revealed as Sara McLean, a former Miss Edinburgh and Big Brother contestant

It is not the first time Sara has dated sports stars as she has been linked to US World Cup goalie Tim Howard, rugby star Ben Cohen, cricket legend Brian Lara as well as TOWIE’s Mario Falcone. Sara appeared on Big Brother back in 2012 where she made it all the way to the final.

James and Sara were spotted holding hands ( 
Image:
Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)

They attended Cheltenham Festival together ( 
Image:
Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)
She had a standout moment on the reality show when she broke out into a tearful rendition of God Save the Queen before launching into a pro monarchy rant. Sara also threatened to punch model Arron Lowe when he said he would pour the housemates’ alcohol down the drain.

James split from Chloe Madeley in October 2023 after five years of marriage. The rugby union ace called time on his romance with the daughter of TV stars Richard and Judy shortly after they filmed ITV series Chloe Madeley: A Family Affair. James and Chloe had attended the horse racing event together back in 2022.

Chloe has spoken candidly about the difficulty of their separation, describing the final year of their marriage as “one of the worst periods of my life”. She believes they are better off apart, but James recently expressed gratitude for the positive impact she had on him. On the Spooning with Mark Wogan podcast, James said: “Chloe is an amazing woman, extremely talented, she’s made me a much better person, being with her, now we’re separated. You separate essentially because you want to make sure your daughter has the best possible life.”

James and Chloe attended the racing event before their split ( 
Image:
Getty Images)

The TV star could be seen chatting with Sara ( 
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Tim Merry/Staff PhotographerHe continued to stress the importance of their daughter Bodhi’s well-being and their ability to work together as parents: “And I think when you have a child you have a responsibility and all of your other wishes go out of the window. The ability for us to co-parent and do stuff is so important, Chloe is more vocal because she wears her heart on her sleeve.”

His Cheltenham date with Sara comes just weeks after reports he was dating advertising executive Helen Barclay, 34. Their pairing was said to have become more serious back in January after the duo first connected over a year ago. It was claimed the pair enjoyed a number of dates with each other, and also spent a lot of time at each other’s houses.

James and Helen were spotted at Knightsbridge restaurant Clap as they enjoyed a romantic date night. The TV star was also spotted commenting on mum-of-two Helen’s Instagram photos as he branded her “fit” as his flirtatious online behaviour heated up.