Ruud Gullit dumped by wife for 'repeated cheating'

London, June 18 (ANI): Ruud Gullit's wife Estelle has left him for a younger man as she's sick of his philandering ways.

Estelle, 33, revealed that the Sky Sports pundit was left "angry and confused" after she told him she wanted a divorce.

The former footie star's wife has fallen in love with Moroccan-born world champion kickboxer Badr Hari, who at 28 is 21 years younger than Gullit.

In an interview with Dutch paper De Telegraaf, she blamed her husband's infidelity for the end of their 12-year marriage.

"There is one thing Ruud needs to know. Badr has not stolen me from Ruud... Ruud gave me away," the Daily Mail quoted her as telling the publication.

"Ruud is angry and confused. He can't believe what is happening. He was really angry when I told him I was leaving him.

"I wanted us both to tell the children. We have a daughter Joelle and a son Maxim together. But I did not get the chance to discuss that.

"Ruud is so annoyed. He really did not see this coming. But that is what happens when you are so busy with your own things," she said.

Estelle revealed that she knew of Gullit affairs and that she had stopped trusting him.

"Of course Ruud had affairs. He always did during our marriage. And of course I knew about them. And of course he would deny them all the time. My trust in him decreased over the years. In the end I didn't trust him one bit.

"That was the moment I started to ask myself, what is this whole marriage actually based on?

"I put on a brave smile for a long time when I was with friends. It was a smile to hide my disappointment and hurt. As a woman you feel so much more than a man. I just knew his things weren't incidents, but pure lust. The first time I confronted him with one of his affairs, we weren't even married," she added.

Estelle met the former Dutch forward at a nightclub while she was aged 17 and still at school. The couple married four years later and have two children together.

She gave birth to their two-year-old daughter, Joelle, when she was 19 and the family lived in a flat on the outskirts of Amsterdam.

"Ruud does not realise that he has hurt me so much over the years. I wonder now if he was aware of how much pain he caused me.

"I wanted that pain to end. I hope he finds somebody who can make him happy. It has become clear over the years that I could not make him happy. Well, not just me on my own.

"Ruud knows I know everything. He really is not a bad man, but he has one particularly bad habit.

"I was looking forward to a lovely, romantic life with Ruud. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. He was sweet, happy. I could not wait to start a family with him. I don't want to forget the great moments, which we did have, otherwise this would not have lasted 16 years," she added.

Estelle said that he is "an adorable father" which "as a woman, that makes you melt at times."

But she said being a good father is not enough. The former European Footballer of the Year was married twice before and has four children with his ex-wives. (ANI)