The former husband of ITV weather presenter Ruth Dodsworth has been jailed for three years for stalking her.
Ruth – who has also presented the weather on GMB and This Morning – said Jonathan Wignall had robbed of her “what should have been the happiest times of my life”.
He tracked her car and plagued her at work to see if she was having an affair.
What happened between Ruth Dodsworth and her ex-husband?
Wignall, 54, was jailed for three years for stalking Ruth, 46.
He’ll serve half his sentence before being let out on license.
A restraining order that bans him from contacting his ex-wife will then be in place.
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Cardiff Crown Court heard that her obsessive husband would set an alarm to check her nightly forecasts.
He’d also call her dozens of times a day and demand to know who she was with.
Wignall also demanded access to her phone to check her messages and deleted numbers of people he didn’t like.
Ruth said she even woke up to find him trying to use her fingerprint to unlock her phone.
The TV presenter, who is a mum of two teenage children, broke down in tears in court.
What did Ruth Dodsworth say in court?
She told the court: “Because of my television career I have had to try and portray a smiley, happy, sunshine-like personality every day when how I felt was anything but.
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“Jonathan’s behaviour has had a big impact on my working life and relationships there have been times in work when I have been unable to keep it together.”
Living with Jonathan was like constantly walking on eggshells, his temper would turn on an instant and anything could trigger it.
“Living with Jonathan was like constantly walking on eggshells, his temper would turn on an instant and anything could trigger it.”
Wignall used to accompany his wife to work until ITV bosses asked him not to.
She also had to spend many of her lunch breaks with him in his car in the car park of the studio.
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What made Ruth decide to leave him?
Ruth decided to leave her husband of 17 years after he bombarded her with more than 150 phone calls in one day.
After they split up, he placed a tracking device on her car so he could check where she was.
And it’s the tracker that ultimately led to his conviction.
After driving home from a remote location, Ruth saw him driving towards her with no reason for being in the area at the time.
Suspicions raised, she took the car to a garage and asked mechanics to look for a tracker.
They found it under the steering wheel and called the police.
Judge Daniel Williams told Wignall he was a “high risk” to his ex-wife.
He added: “You’re a fantasist with a fragile ego which makes you an unrepentant, possessive bully.”
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