Ian Wright opened up about his family issues when participating in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
Fasika Zelealem Senior Sports Reporter
07:00, 16 Nov 2025
Ian Wright has discussed the relationship with his estranged sister on TV before(Image: The Overlap)
Arsenal legend Ian Wright once implored his estranged sister to make amends with his wife before she tied the knot with his former team-mate. The football pundit has had a long-standing strained relationship with his sister Dionne, also known as Dee, who married Crystal Palace star Mark Bright in June earlier this year.
The duo of Bright and Wright were a formidable striking force at Selhurst Park from 1986 to 1991 and have maintained a close bond over the years. Wright even referred to the Palace hero as a “big brother”. However, even before Dionne and Bright exchanged vows, Wright’s relationship with his sister was already fractured.
He disclosed that the feud involves his wife, Nancy, and questioned whether his sister would apologise for her so-called ‘disrespectful’ behaviour towards Nancy when they first became a couple.
During an interview on the True Geordie podcast, Wright recalled: “Nancy went to introduce herself and she totally blanked her in front of people, saying something about, ‘I have to be true to my niece and nephew.’ This happened when I was in the green room. So I came out and said to Nancy, ‘Where’s my sister?’
“She said, ‘You understand what happened.’ When I went over to her I could feel the anger from my toes. I said, ‘As long as we live I don’t want to ever see you again. The only time I will speak to you is when you apologise to her.’ And she said, ‘I am not apologising to anyone.’
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“So I said, ‘That is good because I will never have to see you again.'” Wright tied the knot with his first wife, Deborah, in 1993 and they had two children together before their split in 2004. He later found love with Nancy, whom he married in 2011, and they have two daughters.
Ian Wright spoke about his relationship with his sister on the show(Image: ITV)
The ex-footballer delved deeper into their struggles during his stint on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2019, revealing that they hadn’t spoken in 15 years. He expressed: “So what happens now? Mark Bright is somebody like a big brother and someone I respect who has guided me.
“What will happen if they get married? Is she going to apologise before she walks up the aisle? I want something to happen because my wife does not deserve to be treated like this. My sister has not found the decency to realise she should have apologised by now.
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“I haven’t spoken to my sister for 15 years. She was very disrespectful to my wife when we had just got together. She obviously knew my ex-wife and my kids and so she felt like she had to take a side which I couldn’t understand, because I am her brother.”
It remains a mystery whether Wright and Dionne have reconciled, as the 62-year-old was conspicuously absent from any of the wedding photos Bright shared on social media.
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