Ant McPartlin and Lisa Armstrong's friends 'torn down the middle' amid pair's acrimonious marriage split

Published: 16:54 BST, 27 June 2018 | Updated: 18:26 BST, 27 June 2018

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They went their separate ways at the beginning of the year, with his new romance with his former PA coming to light recently.

And in the wake of Ant McPartlin and Lisa Armstrong's split, their friends are said to have been 'torn down the middle' as they are forced to pick sides in the divorce battle, reports The Sun.

Sources close to the former couple told the website there is a large group of celebrity friends including Holly Willoughby, Philip Schofield and Simon Cowell who are playing 'Switzerland' and staying neutral during the split.

Claim: In the wake of Ant McPartlin and Lisa Armstrong's split, their friends are said to have been 'torn down the middle' as they are forced to pick sides in the divorce battle, reports The Sun (pictured in 2015)

The friend said the split is 'tearing their friendship group down the middle' and added: 'Simon Cowell is also staying neutral, but he's shown his support for Ant by assuring him his job on Britain's Got Talent is waiting for him when he's ready.

'Lisa is a popular figure, she has been disappointed by the reluctance of some so-called friends to offer their support.

'She's come to realise that there's a real clique around Ant and Dec. She can count on the fingers of one hand the number of so-called showbiz pals who have made the effort to reach out to her.'

The source claimed that Ant's close pal Vernon Kay feels for the TV star but at the same time, his wife Tess Daly is friends with Lisa through Strictly Come Dancing.

Neutral: Sources close to the former couple told the website there is a large group of celebrity friends including Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield who are playing 'Switzerland' and staying neutral during the split

They added that Lisa is supported by a number of friends in the industry including Shiarra Bell, who is married to the former Oasis guitarist Andy Bell and Clare Buckfield, Declan Donnelly's ex.

They also claimed presenter Stephen Mulhern had reached out to Lisa which meant a lot to her.

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Ant McPartlin for comment.

This comes as Lisa finally removed the picture of herself with Ant from her Twitter banner, five months after he announced their split, publicly. She has also fled to Los Angeles in the wake of his new romance with their former PA Anne-Marie Corbett.

Happier times: The source said 'Lisa is a popular figure, she has been disappointed by the reluctance of some so-called friends to offer their support' (pictured in 2007)

Lisa had appeared to be exasperated with the all of the reported speculation on how she's been handling the fallout, when she took to Twitter on Sunday to lash out at the 'lies, lies, lies'.

Lisa's three-word tweet came amid an avalanche of headlines circling around her - including claims that she's demanding £50million of Ant's fortune.

It was recently reported that Ant's new girlfriend Anne-Marie already has a good friendship with his co-star Declan Donnelly's wife Ali Astall.

It comes as reports have emerged the TV's host's estranged wife Lisa has allegedly fallen out with the couple in the wake of Ant's new romance.

A source told The Mirror: 'Ali and Ann Marie are friends, there is no animosity there, they have known each other for a long time and get on well.

Claim: The source claimed Simon Cowell is staying neutral but has reached out to Ant

'Ali is also friends with Lisa, they have always been pals, it is a tricky situation for Ali but she is handling the situation well. It is a relief for Ant, that Dec and Ali get on so well with Ann Marie. It has made everything a lot easier.'

Their friendship will no doubt comes as a blow to Lisa, who reportedly booted Ant's new lover out of the home she used to share with the TV host after a ferocious bust-up last year.

According to The Sun, the pair who were once 'firm friends', with Lisa even attending Anne-Marie's daughter's baptism, have not spoken since she sacked her as her PA.

A source told the publication: 'Lisa snapped, she sacked Anne-Marie, told her to clear up her stuff and leave. Things went rapidly downhill between Lisa and Anne-Marie after rehab, which led to Lisa sacking her as her PA.

'Anne-Marie felt Lisa took out some of her distress and anxiety on her and it was not fair, staff at James Grant sorted it out and she carried on working for Ant, but Anne-Marie is stunned Lisa's been playing the friend card this week after all that happened.'

Meanwhile, Ant has reportedly offered his estranged wife their sprawling West London mansion, in a bid to come to their divorce agreement as smoothly as possible.

According to The Sun, the presenter wants to settle their split 'quickly and painlessly'. The paper reports the couple, who split after twelve years in January, are now only talking through lawyers, following a number of tense conversations over the phone.

Keen to smooth things over sooner rather than later, Ant has now reportedly offered Lisa their multi-million pound home in Chiswick, in return for her signing the paperwork.

A source said: 'Ant wants this settled quickly and painlessly. He doesn't want to fight and made it clear Lisa could have an extremely generous offer.

'He even said he would sign over their house.' MailOnline contacted the presenter's representatives for further comment.