Charlotte Church and Gavin Henson split up because they didn't want to "ruin" their children's lives with their arguments.

The Welsh rugby player - who split from his singer-and-TV star fiancee in May - admits the couple's relationship had reached a low and they were both worried what effect their rows would have on Ruby, two, and 18-month-old Dexter.

He said: "It's no secret we weren't getting along. But we didn't want to drag it out for another couple of years. I couldn't have the children five or six years old and crying because we were arguing. I wouldn't want to tear the family apart then, that's horrible. I just knew it was going to ruin their lives if we'd carried on. I don't want them growing up with issues. By doing it this way they'll think it's normal to see mummy on some days and daddy on others. It was a brave decision but a sad one."

Gavin, 28, is still struggling to comprehend what went wrong in the relationship and admits he thought he would be with Charlotte, 24, for the rest of his life.