Former partner rang and praised highly (8)
I believe the answer is:
extolled
'praised highly' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'former partner rang' is the wordplay.
'former partner' becomes 'ex'.
'rang' becomes 'tolled' (tolling is a kind of ringing).
'ex'+'tolled'='EXTOLLED'
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for extolled that I've seen before include "Sang the praises of" , "Enthusiastically praised" , "complimented" , "cracked up" , "celebrated?" .)