Ant McPartlin’s ex Lisa Armstrong falls ‘head over heels’ for actor 15 years her junior she met through Strictly pals Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton

Lisa Armstrong has had a tough time since her life was turned upside down following her split from high-profile TV presenter Ant McPartlin.

In a social media post at the beginning of the year, he took a harsh look at “the losers who lost us,” writing in reference to their struggles: “You spent 2024 in survival mode.” 2025 is your time to rise, rebuild and evolve.’

Now it appears that Lisa did just that. The Daily Mail reveals that the make-up artist has finally put her problems behind her and found new love thanks to her tight connections.

Lisa, 49, is said to be in love with actor Grant Kilburn, whom she has been quietly dating in recent weeks.

Lisa, who leads the team that brings glamor and glamor to Strictly Come Dancing, met after going to see Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton perform together at the Theater Royal in Brighton in early October.

Lisa remained friends with the pair, who became an item after working together on the hit show in the 2018 series, which they went on to win.

Stacey and Kevin, who now have a two-year-old daughter, are starring in a stage production of 2:22 A Ghost Story, which is touring the UK this year and includes Grant in the cast.

Sources revealed after the show that the couple introduced Lisa to Grant, 34, who is 15 years younger than Lisa.

Sources revealed after the show that the couple introduced Lisa to Grant, who, at 34, is 15 years Lisa’s junior.

2:22 A Ghost Story, which is on tour in the UK this year and stars Grant

Stacey and Kevin, who now have a two-year-old daughter, are currently starring in a stage production of 2:22 A Ghost Story.

They hit it off quickly and began dating soon after.

The source told the Daily Mail: ‘Lisa and Grant got on really well and it brought the smile back to her face.

‘Their relationship is still in its early stages and they’re keeping it on the down-low at the moment. Lisa went through a very painful and very public breakup with Ant and doesn’t want to get hurt again, but she’s not thinking about that right now.

‘They just enjoy spending time together. Grant lives in Kent but stays with Lisa whenever he can. Both have been very busy – Lisa and Strictly while Grant has been touring the country.

‘They’re taking it one by one at the moment but it’s great to see him happy again.’

It was a different story to this time last year when Lisa was left alone to reflect on her struggles, unlike Ant, 50, who was spending his first Christmas as a father with new wife Anne-Marie and their seven-month-old son Wilder.

While her showbiz career continues to flourish, Lisa has had to face a series of setbacks and heartbreak since her acrimonious split from Ant, famous for his double act with co-host Dec Donnelly, in 2018.

She broke up with her boyfriend James Green in 2023. Sky electrician (42) moved out of his home.

That same year, a fire broke out in the £5 million house she bought in Chiswick after her divorce.

And the Daily Mail can reveal Grant has also had to overcome challenges in his life. After graduating from Mountview, one of the UK’s leading drama schools, in 2013, things were starting to flow for the “confident, outgoing and athletic” actor.

He said: ‘It was a really exciting time. I felt like the world was under my feet and nothing could go wrong.’

But disaster struck in April the following year when Grant, then just 23, collapsed on a shopping trip with his brother and it was revealed he had suffered a stroke.

In a 2023 interview he said: ‘I was convinced I was going to die. I remember lying in the hospital with so much chaos around me and thinking, ‘It’s time to go and say goodbye.’

Later that day, Grant had a CT scan and showed two large blood clots at the base of his brain.

He said: ‘I never thought a fit, healthy 20-something could have a stroke. I was so scared of what happened…’

This fear stuck with Grant, and he described how it took him almost a decade to get his life back to where he wanted it to be.

Lisa Armstrong has had a tough time since her life was turned upside down following her split from high-profile TV presenter Ant McPartlin.

Lisa bought a £3.8 million house in West London in 2020, two years after her split from Ant after 11 years of marriage (image 2006)

He said: ‘I became depressed and anxious. It took over my life, especially the panic attacks. ‘Every time I got a headache I was terrified that I was about to have another stroke.’

With professional support, Grant was able to better understand what was happening to him and overcome many of his fears.

He has since helped raise awareness for the Stroke Association and visited prisons including Belmarsh, Pentonville and Thameside to encourage other men to talk about their mental health problems and depression.

Friends have told how Lisa struggled to get over dark times after splitting from Ant.

The couple’s romance began in their teens and they were together for more than 23 years.

Lisa met Ant when he was in a band called Deuce on a Smash Hits tour in Newcastle in 1994, performing alongside her and partner Dec, who reached new TV and music heights as PJ & Duncan following their work in Byker Grove.

They were together for more than 10 years before Ant proposed to Lisa while on holiday in Dubai in 2005.

They spent £150,000 on a lavish wedding reception at Cliveden House hotel in Buckinghamshire in July 2006, with December as Ant’s best man.

During their marriage, Ant and Dec continued to cement their place as Britain’s favorite TV duo, but good times aside, all was not well.

In 2013, Ant described the couple’s struggle to conceive to Radio Times: ‘Lisa and I would love to have children. We are trying. It’s harder than you think when you get a little older.’

She also told Fabulous Magazine: ‘I guess I’m lucky. Lisa works in the industry and understands this. He works constantly – sometimes more than I do!

‘We would love to have a family like this. If we were blessed with children, then we would be overjoyed!’

There were more problems ahead when Ant entered rehab in 2017 for alcohol and prescription drug addiction.

Ant, who lives in a £6 million mansion in Wimbledon, married his former personal assistant Anne-Marie Corbett, 46, in a ceremony in Heckfield, Hampshire, in August 2021.

Admitting he needed help at the time, he said: ‘I feel like I let a lot of people down and I’m really sorry about that.’

He admitted in an interview that he put Lisa through hell with her mood swings and depression, but praised her for being ‘wonderful’.

Rumors that the couple had split emerged in the autumn of 2017 after Lisa did not accompany Ant to Australia for I’m A Celeb.

He denied that there were problems at the time, stating that he had a job and had not been to Australia for years.

However, Ant’s representative announced in January 2018 that the couple’s 12-year marriage had ended.

Things got worse for Ant after he crashed his Mini into two cars while twice over the drink drive limit; which led to a 20-month ban and an £86,000 fine.

Around the same time, in March 2018, Ant began contacting the couple’s personal assistant Anne-Marie Corbett, whom Lisa considers a friend.

At the time, Lisa replied to a fan on Twitter: ‘Yes, she is my friend and our PA who I let into our house.’

And she appeared to make her disapproval of the relationship even more apparent by liking a fan’s tweet saying that “starting hooking up with your wife’s friend” was a “big girl code violation.”

The couple’s marriage officially ended in October 2018, when Lisa was granted a decree after Ant admitted to adultery.

But the pair reportedly continued to finalize their financial settlement while falling out over custody arrangements for their chocolate Labrador Hurley.

During their divorce battle, Ant is said to have told lawyers: ‘He can have anything he wants except the dog.’

Lisa, 46, regularly posts selfies of herself looking smitten with James on Instagram, as well as photos of herself enjoying a series of luxury holidays.

Lisa and Ant agreed to take turns looking after Hurley.

The arrangement saw the TV presenter’s driver carry the dog between the two of them so they didn’t need to see each other.

It was later reported that Lisa wanted her pet to live with her full-time.

Ant is said to have suggested it was only fair since he also has two maltipoo dogs (Maltese and poodle crossbreeds) named Milo and Bumble.

Ant, who now lives in a £6million mansion in Wimbledon, south-west London, married Anne-Marie, 48, in a church ceremony in Heckfield, Hampshire, in August 2021.