Chelsea star Frank Lampard splits with fiance Elen Rives

It’s all over for Frank Lampard and fiancée Elen Rives.

The couple, who have two young daughters, have decided to end their relationship after seven years.

Friends of the England and Chelsea midfielder say the trauma brought on by the death of his mum Pat, who passed away suddenly last April from pneumonia, put huge pressure on the relationship.

A pal said: “Unfortunately they have both just drifted apart and fallen out of love. If anything, Elen led the way in ending things.

“Frank’s mum Pat was at the centre of the family and he spoke to her several times a day. He has struggled to cope with life without her.

“With the children and his football commitments, it has meant Frank and Elen have had very little time of their own.

“Elen said she couldn’t take it any more and Frank agreed to the split three months ago.”

Frank, 30, and Elen, 29, have remained living under the same roof at their £3million townhouse in South-West London.

The pair are determined the split will be amicable and Frank is helping find Elen a house nearby so he can be close to their children, who are aged one and three.

The friend added: “Frank is keen to remain friends and he can’t bear to be too far from the girls.”

Just last month Frank spoke for the first time about the loss of his mum, who was always in the stands watching her son play.

He said: “It is a huge gap in my life and very hard to handle.

“The first reaction was anger, the most amazing woman in my life gone. How can it happen to her?”

Elen met Frank in a London bar in April 2002 and, despite repeated reports of planned weddings, a marriage failed to materialise.

They almost split following reports Frank had a fling with an East European brunette in Las Vegas two years ago.

And Frank was said to be furious at reports last year that Elen had been married to impoverished Jordanian Asad Y Abu-Rmaileh.

Despite not marrying, Elen will still have rights to Frank’s £25million fortune. He is one of the world’s best-paid players, earning £150,000 a week with Chelsea.

When asked about the split yesterday, Elen told the Sunday Mirror: “There is nothing to say.”

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