Jeremy Meeks insists his marriage had been over for a "long time" before he met Chloe Green.
The 33-year-old model filed for a legal separation from his wife Melissa Meeks in July, stating in legal documents they had split on June 24, just a few days before he was pictured kissing the Topshop heiress but he has now claimed their eight-year union had been in trouble for several months.
Speaking to the new issue of Heat magazine, he said: "The people who really know me and my family know that my marriage had been over for a long time when I met Chloe. For a while, my wife and I had a very good life together, and then for a long time we didn’t. The marriage was over for a lot longer than people think."
Jeremy has a seven-year-old son, Jeremy Jr., with Melissa and he’s delighted that Chloe has already formed a bond with the youngster.
He said:" She is very loving and caring, but she is a good friend to him – she’s not trying to be his mum because he already has one.
"He spends about two weeks of the month with me and he loves Chloe."
And Jeremy – who is nicknamed the Hot Felon – is open to having kids with his new girlfriend, though it isn’t something they are planning just yet.
He said: "I wouldn’t rule out [having more kids] because I love being a father but that’s not something we are thinking about at the moment. We’re just enjoying being happy together."
The American hunk has never been happier since he met Chloe, 26.
He gushed: "I have never been happier in my life than I am right now. We’ve found love, we’re in love, and we are very happy."
Melissa, 38, was married to Jeremy for almost 10 years before they split and she has partly blamed his modelling career on the breakdown of their marriage.
Melissa previously said: "This new career path that he was on, he started to do a lot of travelling and unfortunately I wasn’t able to go with him on a lot of things. So i feel that probably pulled some distance between us. I wouldn’t say that was the cause but I definitely feel it could have been a part of what happened."
Jeremy shot to fame after his police mug shot surfaced on social media, which swiftly saw him propelled into the fashion business and grace the runway for designer brands including Philipp Plein.
Jeremy Meeks: My marriage was over before I met Chloe Green
