Inside Home and Away stars Sarah Roberts and James Stewart’s ‘bruised and wounded’ divorce as insider says actor had ‘similar issues’ with ex Jessica Marais

Sarah Roberts announced her divorce from husband of five years James Stewart in an emotional ‘tell-all’ interview earlier this month – but an ‘insider’ has revealed there’s more to the story. 

Breaking the news in a shock magazine interview, the Home and Away star, 39, said she and James, 48, just ‘grew apart’. 

However, a friend of the actress has claimed the pair separated ‘bruised and wounded’ after ‘complex’ problems arose.

‘James has been confronted with similar personal issues he encountered when he was with former partner Jess Marais,’ the insider allegedly told Now To Love.

Jess and James share 12-year-old daughter Scout and were engaged for five years until their split in 2015. 

According to the insider, Sarah attempted to make things work with James ‘for the sake of Scout’ who took a shining to the actress.

‘Their relationship problems were just too complex, and in the end, the love died and both, bruised and wounded, decided to go their separate ways,’ the source added. 

‘Sarah has always had huge dreams of wanting to venture abroad and take her career to the US and James wasn’t a fan – his first priority is all about Scout.’

Sarah announced her divorce from James after five years of marriage during an emotional interview with Stellar magazine.  

The soap star and DJ told the publication: ‘I just want to say that I am divorced.

‘Sometimes people grow apart and that’s okay… I got to a point where I realised I couldn’t grow in the way I wanted to within this particular relationship.’

Sarah and James married in 2019 after getting engaged in November 2018, when the TV hunk proposed at the restaurant where they had their first date a year earlier.

Rumours of their split circulated in recent years after James was absent at the premiere of Sarah’s film Wog Boys Forever in Melbourne back in October 2022.

As reported by The Daily Telegraph, he was ‘nowhere to be seen on the red carpet’ and was apparently no longer following his wife’s Instagram account. 

At the time, Sarah’s agent denied they had broken up with the pair later putting the rumours to rest when they attended the AACTA Awards in December that year.