International rugby star Jamie Ritchie has broken up with his childhood sweetheart wife – and she has set up home with a close friend, the Daily Mail can reveal.
The former Scotland captain, 29, recently revealed he will be returning to his homeland following the collapse of his marriage to long-time partner Millie.
Millie Ritchie, also 29, has now moved in with one of his closest friends, who has also split from his wife.
It is understood that the two couples had previously often socialised together before both marriages collapsed.
The Ritchies' marriage is understood to have abruptly ended last summer just days before the couple were due to move together to the south of France.
They had been in the final stages of preparations to relocate after Ritchie agreed to leave Edinburgh for a new contract with French side USA Perpignan.
The Ritchies had even packed up the entire contents of their townhouse in the city, to send to storage or take to France in a van.
They had also organised a new home in south-west France but then instead they decided to separate.
International rugby star Jamie Ritchie and his childhood sweetheart wife Millie have separated
The couple who had been together since they were 15 and wed in 2021 suddenly ended their marriage last year as Ritchie and his family were about to move to the south-west of France
The former Scotland captain, 29, recently revealed he will be returning to his homeland following the collapse of his marriage to long-time partner Millie
Just days after their split, Ritchie then went to Perpignan alone, leaving Millie and their family behind in Scotland.
Ritchie had enjoyed a wildly successful first year at his new club but recently stunned his bosses by announcing his intention to leave while still under contract for another season to return to Scotland, blaming 'a really difficult period'.
In a video released by Perpignan for fans, the player explained: 'It was a really difficult decision to make.'
His statement then became personal, continuing: 'The club has been very welcoming, as have the fans, but it's a personal decision I have made to be closer to my kids and my family.'
Ritchie is now expected to play for Glasgow Warriors next season instead.
The couple had been childhood sweethearts, getting engaged while still in their teens before finally marrying in 2021.
Before their split Ritchie and Millie had been very publicly visible as a couple, routinely presenting a united front on social media, regularly posing for beaming pitch-side snaps together.
The Ritchies and the other couple are understood to have first met several years ago.
They two couples quickly became close and Millie's new partner is thought to have become a mentor to the sportsman and they shared business interests.
Mrs Ritchie was also involved in a business with new partner but quit after her husband played his last match with Edinburgh
Shortly after was her last appearance on Ritchie's Instagram profile. This was in a post he made to mark his departure from Edinburgh and to thank their fans.
Soon after Ritchie stopped sharing photos of his wife online, Mrs Ritchie changed her long-time profile picture – from a photo with her husband, to one of her without him.
The pair had first met aged just 15 when he asked for her number in a chance encounter in Heathrow Terminal 5 – and Mrs Ritchie ended up taking time out from her undergraduate course in Business at Glasgow's University of Strathclyde to have a family.
A Scottish rugby source said: ''Jamie embraced and enjoyed being a family man from a young age, unlike other young players, who often enjoy partying and getting attention from girls at that stage of their careers. But perhaps it was too much too young.'
The couple had been in the final stages of preparations to relocate after Ritchie agreed to join French side USA Perpignan. Millie has now moved in with her estranged husband's close friend
After the breakdown of his marriage, Ritchie only spent a year in France. Announcing his move back to Scotland at the end of the season, he said: 'The club has been very welcoming, as have the fans, but it's a personal decision I have made to be closer to my kids and my family.'
The Ritchies, the other couple and Scottish Rugby declined to comment. USA Perpignan was approached for comment.
The Ritchie break-up comes after his former Scotland rugby teammate Stuart Hogg lost his reputation and had to hand back his MBE for his conduct during a marital split.
Hogg, 33, was banned from approaching or contacting his estranged wife Gillian for five years after admitting charges of domestic abuse two years ago.
He also confessed he had tracked her movements and sent her disturbing messages.