Kelly Brook bedded my hubby
STRICTLY EXCLUSIVE I DON'T BLAME HIM..ANY MAN WOULD BE TEMPTED THEY ROMPED IN OUR BED BUT I'VE FORGIVEN HIM NOW
By Grant Hodgson
Grant.Hodgson@Mgn.Co.Uk
Finding out your husband has cheated on you is a nightmare. Find out the other woman is Kelly Brook and you might as well give up hope...
But Julie Cooke, 35, whose husband Phil had a fling with the Strictly Come Dancing beauty, forgave him - and won him back.
Amazingly, she even admits she can't blame him for being tempted by one of Britain's sexiest women.
"When my husband Phil told me he had slept with Kelly Brook my heart sank," says Julie.
"After all, it wasn't a case of him going off with any old slapper. It was Kelly Brook, one of the most beautiful and desirable women in the country.
"I can understand why Phil did it. What man wouldn't?
"In the end though, he came back to me. I won him back and our marriage is still going strong."
It was 1996 and Julie's three-year marriage to Phil, a former Mr UK, had hit a rocky patch.
Irritated by the amount of time he was spending with gorgeous women on professional modelling assignments, she had temporarily moved out of their home.
It was then Phil met Kelly on a photo-shoot and began an affair with the 17-year-old model, even sleeping with her in the marital bed.
Kelly's presenting job on Big Breakfast was three years away - but her sultry looks meant she was already a big star in the making.
However, the three-month fling fizzled out and, determined to make the marriage work, Julie moved back in with Phil, now 37.
Phil sheepishly confessed he had been seeing "a girl" - but never let on it was Kelly.
Julie says: "It felt right to move back in and he told me he wasn't seeing anyone and he loved me. In the back of my mind though I knew he had seen a girl and I wondered what had they done. Had they had sex in our home? What had happened?
It gradually ate away at me. But he denied having sex with this girl."
In fact, the opposite was the case. Phil reveals: "When I met Kelly I was bowled over by her.
"I still loved Julie but Kelly was stunning. I'd be lonely in the house on my own and I fancied her straight away.
"She was a distraction from the problems I was having with the marriage.
"When I first saw her she was wearing a tight, black top that emphasised her curves. She was only a teenager but very womanly.
She looked sensational.
"As we talked we just clicked. We were both laughing and having a good time.
"Eventually we decided to walk to the station together to get the train home from London. I told her I was married but it looked as though it was all over. My attitude was, 'What have I got to lose?' I thought I'd lost everything anyway.
"She invited me to a boat party on the Thames.
"That night I even told Julie on the phone that I had been invited to a party by a model, hoping to make her jealous. She just told me to go, because she didn't care."
At the party, Phil and Kelly had their first kiss.
Phil says: "We left the party as soon as we could. I'd already prepared the house because I had a feeling Kelly and I would be going back there to have sex.
"I put all the photos of Julie in the drawers. I couldn't bear the thought of her staring at us. At the house Kelly and I immediately started getting steamy on the sofa. She had a body to die for.
"I led the way in the sex because I was more experienced than her.
"The sex was fantastic. It was all about lust. But at the back of my mind I was worried that Julie might walk in through the door at any minute. She still had a set of keys."
Over the next three months Phil met Kelly several times and they had sex on at least four occasions, always in the marital bed at Phil and Julie's then home in Bromley, Kent.
"Kelly told me she wanted me to meet her parents. I agreed, half-heartedly, but it never came about. Eventually I let the affair fizzle out.
"I started talking to Julie again and realised there was a chance we could give the marriage another go.
"Julie moved back in and that was the end of me and Kelly.
"She called loads of times but I just never answered."
Julie and Phil began rebuilding their marriage - but Julie STILL didn't know the identity of the woman involved.
Phil recalls: "Kelly started appearing on TV and in loads of magazines. I was really uncomfortable whenever I saw her and Julie picked up on it.
"Things came to a head a year later when Julie and I were on holiday in Mexico. She kept on at me about who the girl was and I blurted it out."
A week after they got home, in an incredible coincidence Julie found herself sitting on a train not far away from Kelly.
"Before that train journey I thought all the Kelly stuff was behind us.
"Seeing her brought it right back into focus. I couldn't believe it. I glimpsed a girl at the other end of the train carriage who for some reason I thought I knew.
"This girl had thick brown hair and thick eyebrows. I saw her head turn to one side and I got a shudder down my spine.
"It was an amazing coincidence. I immediately knew I had to confront her," says Julie.
"It was my only chance to hear her confirm my husband's affair.
"But I decided not to do anything on the train because it was packed. I had to wait about 15 minutes until the train got to the station.
"I got off the train first, Kelly followed. When we were both on the platform I spun round and said, 'You're the one that shagged my husband aren't you? What have you got to say?'
Kelly looked at me in shock. The colour drained from her face. I had tunnel vision, people were looking at us but I was staring straight at her.
"She looked around nervously and said, 'Who are you?' I said I'm Phil Cooke's wife.
"She denied knowing him but I was having none of it, telling her I knew that they'd had sex in my house.
"I was angry and was ready to hit out but then she admitted it.
"She said, 'Yeah I did see him'. Then she added, 'Sorry, I didn't realise you were getting back together'.
"What she said made it all raw again. I could picture the two of them in bed together. It was horrible.
"I felt so sick about it my anger disappeared. I had wanted to give her a slap but then I just wanted to get away from her.
"I told Kelly, 'Good luck to you then', and walked away.
"I phoned Phil afterwards and told him what happened. He was nervous and thought it was a wind-up. I assured him it wasn't.
"That meeting with Kelly helped give me the determination to make our marriage work.
"We've since had two beautiful daughters - yet it could have all been so different."
She adds: "It took me a few months to stop thinking about the affair 24/7. Phil told me about everything they had done. The bed had to go, obviously, and the sofa where they'd had sex.
"We also agreed to sell the house and move somewhere new for a fresh start.
"Ok, it cost a lot of money but it was worth it. We had to do that to save our marriage.
"Kelly was set to become a big star but at least he'd dumped her to make our marriage work. Now all these years down the line our relationship has never been stronger."
Phil agrees, saying: "Our marriage is still very much on track. Our two daughters are a real blessing. I'm very lucky.
"We've put what happened with Kelly behind us."
The couple are living in Dubai, where Julie has been working as an estate agent.
She says: "I can't even watch Strictly Come Dancing in Dubai. It's not broadcast there. My friends in the UK all think it's brilliant and they tell me they're impressed by Kelly's dances with Brendan Cole.
"She's got her life with her fiance Billy Zane now. I'm still curious about what she gets up to but I doubt our paths will ever cross again.
"I have a wonderful husband and wonderful children. I know who I think is happier."
Mirror
