FAMILY TURMOIL

IT was hardly a display of Bellingham family togetherness.

In the stands at Borussia Dortmund’s stadium last week, Mark and Denise — parents to footballing prodigies Jude and Jobe — sat noticeably apart.

A German newspaper suggested there was a “dangerously tense atmosphere” and that Mark, 49, and Denise, 57, avoided conversation as they watched Jobe play.

Now, the cause of this alleged frostiness might have come into focus.

A Facebook photo has emerged showing ex-policeman Mark with his arm draped around the shoulders of Shelley Punshon, a detective constable with West Mercia police, as they stood on a woodland path.

It was uploaded by divorced, mum-of-two Shelley.

Comments underneath included love hearts, with one poster writing: “Lovely couple xx”.

Shelley, from Stourbridge, West Mids, where the Bellinghams brought up their two boys, added that they were “off to Santorini soon”.

‘Jobe is struggling’

The reports that Denise and Mark have split and that Mark and Shelley have grown close come just a month after Jude, 22, seemed to be more loved up than ever with his sweetheart, model and influencer Ashlyn Castro.

The pair were all over each other during a romantic beach break in Sardinia, engaging in a PDA that made locals cringe.

While Mark and Denise are widely regarded to have shrewdly master-minded their sons’ stellar careers, these latest reports come during an unsettled period for the boys.

Real Madrid midfield dynamo Jude — the talisman of the England team — was dropped by Three Lions coach Thomas Tuchel for tonight’s World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

Tuchel’s relationship with Bellingham has come under scrutiny since June when he revealed his mum Gabriele finds Jude’s on-field demeanour “repulsive”.

She was referring to a raging Jude kicking a water cooler after England lost to Senegal.Tuchel added that Jude’s aggression can sometimes intimidate teammates. He explained: “I think he brings an edge, which we welcome.

Mark raised eyebrows — and the ire of England World Cup hat-trick hero Sir Geoff Hurst — when he confronted Dortmund’s hierarchy after Jobe was substituted at half-time during a game in August . – Sun.