The Ex-Wife recap: What happened in series 1, and how the twisted ending sets up series 2
The thriller is back, and series 2 starts three years after the first
The Ex-Wife series 2 is about to arrive on Channel 5, four years after the first series aired – so you might need a handy series 1 recap.
This time, the events start several years after Tasha managed to escape from her abusive husband Jack. She is now living off-grid in Cyprus under a new identity. However it’s not the carefree life it might appear to be. In reality, Tasha lives in fear of Jack tracking her down. Crucially, she is terrified he will find out that their daughter Emily is actually alive…
At the end of series 1, after an horrific car crash involving all of the main characters, Tasha faked Emily’s death. And that ultimately landed Jack in jail, as he was blamed for the accident.
Here’s a recap of The Ex-Wife series 1, and how is sets up the events of series 2.
***Warning: spoilers from The Ex-Wife series 1 ahead***
What happened in series 1 of The Ex-Wife?
In the first series of The Ex-Wife, viewers met new mum Tasha and her baby Emily. She seemed to be “living the dream” with her handsome husband Jack, a successful media executive. They lived in a beautiful Hampstead home, which made our purse ache.
However, there was one fly in the ointment – Jack’s ex-wife Jen who didn’t seen to want to leave them alone… As the series progressed, an isolated Tasha spiralled into paranoia when she came to believe that Jen was actually after her daughter Emily. Her worst fears were subsequently realised when Emily vanished without a trace, and her mission to be reunited with her daughter led to tragedy.
But the real villain was not Jen. Although she was initially presented as a vindictive and jealous ex-wife haunting Tasha and Jack, we soon realised that Jack was a manipulative abuser. Jen was actually a victim of Jack’s gaslighting and lies. As was Tasha.
Don't miss a single story! Add us as a Preferred Source in Google for all your television news
In fact, Jack (played by Tom Mison) was deeply in love with Jen, and only using Tasha to have children. Tragically, Jen (Janet Montgomery) couldn’t have them. Rather than processing grief in a healthy way, Jack became obsessed with creating his “perfect family” by any means necessary.
Jack lied to both women, telling Jen that Tasha was a stalker, and telling Tasha that Jen was trying to destroy their marriage. He kept control over both of them, by making them enemies.
Jen was eventually shown to be fighting to escape Jack’s coercive control rather than trying to maliciously tear Tasha down. Tasha, having realised she was married to a monster, tried to leave Jack – taking Emily with her.
But that’s when Jack showed his true colours…
The Ex-Wife series 1 recap: How did Tasha get away?
When Tasha tried to leave Jack, he became scarily violent. Not content with physically abusing her, he subsequently locked her up in their basement like a slave.
When she finally managed to attempt an escape, Jack grabbed her as she ran to the garden. The pair fought, with Tasha finally managing to bash Jack over the head, leaving him for death in their empty pool. But, course, he wasn’t dead.
In the final episode, Jen finally realised that Jack was a controlling creep. And, crucially, she decided to betray Jack and help Tasha. She told her where Jack had been hiding Emily, and the pair planned to meet in Heathrow.
However, on the motorway, Jack saw Tasha driving to the airport and attempted to run her off the road…
With Jen, Jack, and Emily in one car, and Tasha in another, all four main characters were involved in an horrific car crash ending in an explosion.
The Ex-Wife series 1 ending explained
Having been exposed as a controlling creep, Jack planned to flee the UK before Tasha could expose him. Driving to Heathrow with a reluctant Jen in the car, and his daughter Emily, he raced to Heathrow. However, when he saw Tasha in a car also driving to the airport, he intentionally tried to drive Jen off the road.
But it didn’t work out well for him, as Jen tried to stop Jack. In turn, he lost control of the car and drove into oncoming traffic. Seconds after the crash, Jack was seen unconscious in the car. This gave Tasha the opportunity to take her daughter from the back of the car, luckily unharmed. She gave Sam her daughter, and the pair disappeared.
Having secretly rescued Emily in the chaos before the explosion, Tasha was able to fake her daughter’s death. They even had a funeral, as well as setting Jack up as the one to blame. Which, quite frankly, he was. It was the only way to stop Jack from controlling her life as well.
In a final twist, we joined Tasha four months later, where Emily was alive and safe in Budapest with Tasha’s friend Sam, while Tasha, Jen, and Sam began a new, united life together. And Jack? At the end of the series, he was in a coma. But the final seconds showed Jack appearing to wake up, and moving his hand. Yikes.
How does series 1 set up series 2?
As series 2 lands on Channel 5 after its 2025 premiere on Paramount+, we find Tasha and Emily three years on from the events of series 1. They are living in Cyprus with new identities. But it’s not all happy families, as she is skint and living in difficult conditions. She’s also living in fear of Jack finding her.
We discover that Jack is serving time in Wormword Scrubs for his part in Emily’s ‘death’. Having woken from his coma, the media executive was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.
But, of course, it’s only a matter of time before he’s out – and out for revenge. And that’s even before he discovers his daughter is, in fact, alive.
