Jude Bellingham’s parents were pictured together watching their younger son, Jobe, play on Monday night, after deciding to end their marriage. 

Mark Bellingham and his wife Denise have been married for over twenty years, but as exclusively disclosed by the Daily Mail, they are ending their marriage.

The couple is praised for their significant involvement in Jude’s ascent to becoming a Real Madrid and England star, as well as Jobe’s development with Borussia Dortmund.

They watched on as Jobe played for England’s Under-21s as they beat minnows Andorra 1-0. 

Jobe played the entire match while his parents watched, with Denise dressed in a dark leather jacket and former police sergeant Mark wearing a black Adidas cap beside her.

Mark Bellingham and his wife Denise were photographed at Pride Park, Derby, on Monday night, observing their son Jobe play, after making the decision to conclude their 20-year marriage.

The couple were sitting together having been positioned apart for Jobe’s previous match

They were seen leaving at the same time after the match when the stands had emptied of fans.  

Last week, the couple were pictured sitting apart to watch Jobe’s game against Athletic Bilbao, sparking rumours about their marriage.  

A German newspaper reported there was a ‘dangerously tense atmosphere’ surrounding the family during the game, with 49-year-old Mark only speaking to a close family member and not interacting with 57-year-old Denise, who reportedly avoided engaging in conversation.

Now, sources close to the couple have confirmed that Mark has grown close to Shelley Punshon, a detective constable in the West Mercia police.

Ms Punshon is a divorced mother-of-two from Stourbridge, West Midlands, where the Bellingham family previously lived and raised their sons.

Their initial meeting is unclear, but Ms. Punshon posted an image of the pair looking at ease on her public Facebook page in August. The picture, taken on a woodland path, displays a smiling Mark standing behind Ms. Punshon, with his arm around her.

Comments underneath the pair include love hearts, with one poster adding: ‘Lovely couple xx’

Ms Punshon also adds that they are ‘off to Santorini soon’, suggesting that they were planning a holiday to the Greek islands together.

Mark and Denise were pictured leaving at the same time after the fans had left the ground

As his marriage collapsed Mark has struck up a friendship with Shelly Punshon (above), who posted a picture of herself with Mr Bellingham onto her publicly available Facebook page

It is also not clear when Mark and Denise formally separated, although they have largely lived apart for the last five years, most recently dividing their time between Germany and Spain, as they followed their sons.

Now sources in Germany have told The Mail on Sunday that concern is increasing within the club at the impact the domestic troubles in the Bellingham family are having on Jobe, who is said to be particularly close to Denise.  

The split comes during what has already been an unsettled period for the brothers after Jude – who scored two goals for England in Euro 2024 – was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad. Meanwhile, Jobe, 20, has yet to complete a full 90-minutes in any of his 12 league appearances for Dortmund.

Trouble flared at the start of the season in August after Mark reportedly tried to confront Dortmund’s manager, Nico Kovac, after Jobe was substituted at half time in the team’s opening Bundesliga match.

According to reports, he was banned from the team’s dressing room and later engaged in a heated discussion with the club’s sporting director over his frustration that his son had been hauled off.

Denise (top left) and Mark (top, second from right in a cap) were seen sitting apart at brother Jobe’s match for Borussia Dortmund earlier this month

Mark and Denise have been widely credited for masterminding their sons’ careers and protecting them from the pitfalls of fame and the temptations of multi-million-pound salaries.

Mark acts as his sons’ agent, negotiating transfers, salary packages and sponsorship deals, after giving up his job with West Midlands police in 2022.

 Meanwhile Denise, who previously worked in human resources, handles the brothers’ financial affairs. Both parents act as joint directors in a series of companies they set up and it is not clear whether this will change as a result of the separation.

Throughout the years they had proved to be an unbeatable team and went to great lengths to treat the talented footballers equally.

Jude has spoken warmly of both of them. In one interview, he said: ‘Before being great parents they’re great people.

Mark and Denise had been living in separate countries as they helped launch the careers of the Real Madrid star Jude (left) and Jobe (right) who plays for Borussia Dortmund

‘I’ve grown up around them and seen the way they interact with other people, seen the way they treat people.

‘When you have people like that, you don’t have to be told how to behave, you pick that up from them … working hard and if you want something, putting in the graft to go and get it.’

None of the Bellingham family can be accused of not putting in the graft. When Jude quit his boyhood club, Birmingham City, aged 17 to sign for Borussia Dortmund in 2020, Denise moved with him and they shared an apartment together in the city, while Mark remained at home with Jobe.

In 2023, Jude was unveiled as Real Madrid’s £113million star signing on the same day it was announced Jobe was joining Sunderland. While Mark followed Jobe to the North East, Denise – who the boys refer to as their ‘Queen’ – moved to Spain with Jude.  

Mark regularly kept in touch with the pair via video calls and would fly over to attend award ceremonies and events.

He would also attend big matches, often with Jobe, when there were no clashing fixtures.

After helping guide Sunderland to promotion to the Premier League last season, Jobe followed in his brother’s footsteps when he signed for Dortmund for a reported £27.8million.

 Mark regularly kept in touch with the pair via video calls and would fly over to attend award ceremonies and events.

Mark (right) was reportedly banned from Borussia Dortmund’s dressing room back in August after he held an emotional discussion with club chiefs over their treatment of Jobe

The split comes during an unsettled period for Jude (seen with Denise) after he endured a difficult time with England manager Thomas Tuchel and was left out of the latest squad

He would also attend big matches, often with Jobe, when there were no clashing fixtures.

After helping guide Sunderland to promotion to the Premier League last season, Jobe followed in his brother’s footsteps when he signed for Dortmund for a reported £27.8million.

Jude once said of his father: ‘When you go and watch him play every week in non-league, you know it’s not the Premier League or anything, but seeing the way that he played and the atmosphere, it made me fall in love with football so he was probably my first hero.

‘Growing up, he’d always give me tips on what I could do and now it gets to a certain age and it sort of flips and that’s brilliant because we have that sort of relationship like father and son and then as I got older, like coach and player.’

He has had a slow start to the season as he recovers from shoulder surgery over the summer.

The Daily Mail has approached Mark and Denise Bellingham for comment.