Alfie Boe has opened up about the emotional scars left by his divorce, admitting that he struggles with “a daily battle to forgive himself.” The 52-year-old opera singer, who split from his wife Sarah in 2020 after 16 years of marriage, revealed the lasting pain of the separation, which he says he has been grappling with ever since.
In a candid interview with The Independent, Alfie shared the personal turmoil he’s been through following his divorce, which also led to a five-week stint in rehab after an overdose. “It’s a battle every day learning how to forgive myself, to look at the way you were in the past, and try to become a better person,” he said.
Alfie’s split from Sarah, who hails from Utah, followed a turbulent period in their lives, with the couple’s troubles coming to a head during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the separation being amicable, Alfie admitted that he couldn’t fully disclose the truth behind it. “People don’t understand why the children moved away from me,” he said. “It’s just a shame when you can’t tell the truth, and you take the higher ground.”
The couple, who lived in the Cotswolds after relocating from the US, share two children, Grace, 17, and Alfie, 13. Although their separation was confirmed in 2020, Alfie has been reflecting on the emotional toll the divorce took on him. “If you don’t think about your mistakes, you don’t grow from them,” he said, noting that the journey of recovery from such a painful experience is long.
Alfie also expressed his concerns over his children, who now live in the US with Sarah. “It’s pretty tough to feel that, every day, your kids are on the other side of the world to you,” he admitted. “I follow a lot of US news programmes, and it scares me what’s going on over there.”
Despite these personal challenges, Alfie has found love again with 29-year-old Elizabeth Worth, after a brief romance with Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham in 2023. He shared a photo of himself and Elizabeth enjoying a date at the Savoy Hotel in London. However, his romance with Waddingham remained low-key, with the two managing to keep their relationship under wraps during Eurovision.
The fallout from his marriage and the emotional strain it caused has been difficult for Alfie, but as he focuses on his family and new ventures, including his upcoming album, he continues to heal from the past.
Alfie has always been open about his struggles, including a traumatic birth experience with his son, which has inspired him to speak more openly about mental health and personal recovery. His story resonates with many who have gone through the pain of divorce and the emotional challenges that follow.
