Billie Piper has opened up about co-parenting with ex Laurence Fox and the difficulties of constantly being asked about him

Billie Piper and Laurence Fox were one of the most talked-about couples of the noughties, with the former couple married from 2007 to 2016, sharing two children, Winston and Eugene. 

In the years since their separation, Fox, 45, has become a right wing commentator, with his views dubbed so "harmful" that he has even been barred from GB News.

And while Piper, 41, has never publicly commented on the situation, every time her ex-husband makes a divisive statement, her name by association gets brought into the mix.

This week, ahead of her new film Scoop, Piper sat down with Vogue, breaking her silence on Fox for the first time and admitting that the situation affects her deeply. However, dealing with it, she explains, has made her stronger in so many ways and has reminded her of how resilient she is.

"I’ve had to make some choices and a divorce speaks for itself, or at least it should," Piper explained in the interview. “Look, if people want to try and understand the workings of the guy, they ought to either ask him or his family. Ask Richard Ayoade what he thinks, or his wife Lydia [Fox]. They might have a more interesting take.

“What is paramount for me is the privacy and anonymity of my children. They deserve not to be extensions of the parents and to forge their own identities.”

But when asked how she co-parents with Fox, Piper stated "with enormous difficulty", recalling what she does when "a storm of his creation explodes".

“I close everything down and keep a very strict routine with the kids so that there’s consistency. I keep them close - that’s all I can do," she explained. “I try to keep people from telling me stuff but it’s really, really hard. I don’t read it but everyone wants to talk about it. Sometimes I have to say to people: ‘Please don’t bring this to me, now or ever.’"

We will continue to update this story.