Joanne McCue: Who Is Dragon Duncan Bannatyne’s Ex-Wife?
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Duncan Bannatyne is best known for his stint on the BBC show Dragon’s Den. The Scottish entrepreneur was on the show between 2005 and 2015, investing in a total of 36 businesses.
Behind the scenes, though, the Dragon has had a tumultuous personal life. He’s been married three times and has six children.
His most interesting marriage is perhaps to his second wife: Joanne McCue. They married in 2006 and divorced in 2013, and since then there has been drama surrounding the pair.
So what do we know about Joanne McCue?
Who is Joanne McCue?
Joanna McCue and Duncan Bannatyne married in 2006 in Billingham, northeast England, but they first met quite a while before that.
In 1989, Joanne was working as a junior nurse in a care home in Norton, Teesside – a care home owned by Duncan. However, they didn’t get together for five years, while in the meantime Duncan finalised his divorce with his first wife, Gail.
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In 1996 the couple sold the nursing home business for £26 million and the children’s nursery chain Just Learning for £22 million in 1997.
Their first child, Emily, was born in 1999. She was followed by Tom in 2001.
At the time, Joanne says, it was “exciting”. She said: “We were building things and opening new things, and did some fantastic things together.
We had holidays around the world and threw endless parties, especially at our villa in the South of France.”
The End of their Marriage
With two children, successful businesses, and a starring role on a BBC show, you’d think that the family were living their dream.
However, cracks started to show between Duncan Bannatyne and Joanne McCue in 2005 – when Duncan joined Dragon’s Den. At the time, they split for a while, before getting back together and marrying in 2006.
However, the final straw came in 2008, when a story broke revealing Duncan had taken a young driving instructor back to one of his hotels.
Joanne said: “I didn’t know the story was coming out, but he did. I don’t know if it was true or not.
Was it a set-up? Even if it was, you still have to go so far, don’t you? I don’t know what had gone on before for this woman to think that she could sell her story.”
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Joanne McCue started divorce proceedings in 2010. Both Joanne and Duncan are protected by a confidentiality agreement and can’t reveal details about the settlement. However, it’s telling that between 2011 and 2013 Duncan’s wealth fell from £430 million to £85 million.
At the time, Duncan took the divorce proceedings bitterly, posting tirades on Tiwtter against Joanne McCue. One of his tweets read: “Just received my Decree Absolute by email, isn’t that nice? #DivorcedForMoney by a #GoldDiggingFamily.”
Now, Joanne is a successful businesswoman in her own right. She has invested more than £250,000 in a boutique fitness centre in Teesside and has plans to expand her venture.
Duncan Bannatyne’s Career
Duncan wasn’t always a successful businessman and comes from a humble background. Born in Dalmuir, Scotland, he left school at 15 with no qualifications and later enlisted in the Royal Navy.
He received a dishonourable discharge at aged 19 after threatening to push an officer off a boat. After ten years of flitting between jobs, he moved to Stockon-on-Tees, north-east England, at 29 to have a go at business.
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His career started with buying an ice cream van for just £450. He expanded the business and later sold it for £28,000. Following the sales of his further businesses, he founded Bannatyne’s Health Clubs, which is now the biggest independent health club chain in the UK.
Duncan announced he was leaving Dragon’s Den in 2014, after almost ten years on the show. At the time, he said: “I do not plan to make any further investments on the programme so thought it fair to offer my seat to someone else.”
The businessman is now married to 41-year-old Nigora Whitehorn. They tied the knot in 2017 and now live in Portugal in a lavish villa which Duncan bought after selling his last Portugal home for £5 million.