Ben Foden's wife Jackie Smith has insisted immigration officials were wrong to block his kids from travelling to the US to visit their dad.
On Monday, the authorities stopped Jackie's step-children Aoife, nine, and Tadhg, six - who Ben, 35, shares with ex-wife Una Healy - from flying to New York, leaving the children "heartbroken" that they could not spend the summer with their dad and Jackie, 36, in America.
After the devastating ordeal which took place at Dublin airport, Jackie, who shares daughter Farrah with Ben, has told MailOnline : "They should have been allowed to travel!
There's a ban on EU citizens, except immediate family!" She continued: "Children by marriage should be considered immediate!
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