Former spouse quoted heartless lady in an animated way (9)

I believe the answer is:

excitedly

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'in an animated way' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'former spouse quoted heartless lady' is the wordplay.
'former spouse' becomes 'ex' (an ex-spouse).
'quoted' becomes 'cited' ('cite' can be a synonym of 'quote').
'heartless' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters).
'lady' with its centre removed is 'ly'.
'ex'+'cited'+'ly'='EXCITEDLY'

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(Other definitions for excitedly that I've seen before include "In an agitated and cheerful manner" , "Very eagerly and enthusiastically" , "In an enthusiastic and eager manner" , "Madly" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.

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