29 December 2023 , 07:35
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BBC weather presenter Carol Kirkwood today announced she has married her long-term partner Steve Randall, who is 13 years her junior.
The couple, who also revealed their engagement live on TV, quietly tied the knot in Buckinghamshire on Wednesday, two days after Christmas. "It was the most perfect and romantic and intimate wedding. We are both so incredibly happy," Carol, 61, revealed on BBC Breakfast this morning.
Show hosts Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt teed up the news, with Naga telling BBC viewers: "Carol, obviously Carol Kirkwood our friend and colleague, has got married. She married her partner Steve this week."
As images of the pair's nuptials played out on-screen, Charlie added: "Really happy for her! If you're wondering where Carol is, that's what she's been up to."
Carol and Steve tied the knot on Wednesday (Abi Chadwick)
Their nuptials were announced live on BBC Breakfast (Abi Chadwick)"It is a lovely picture, isn't it," Charlie said as Naga continued: "They tied the knot in Buckinghamshire on Wednesday, Carol says it was the most perfect and romantic and intimate wedding. Lots of you have been in touch as well. We obviously wish Carol and Steve the best but many of you have been sending best wishes."
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Charlie said: "Beautiful pictures, I hadn't seen them until the first thing this morning so they're all new to us as well." Reading out more well wishes on air, Naga continued: "David says he's 'looking forward to seeing her back doing the weather soon, but not too soon', and I know exactly what you mean. Hopefully they'll get some time to enjoy the wedding and a little honeymoon as well."
Carol has since thanked viewers for their kind words, posing on X: "Thank you so much for all your lovely messages. We had the most perfect day. It was a tiny wedding but so romantic and intimate. A day we will never forget. We are bursting with happiness. It wasn’t a ‘secret’ wedding, just a private one."
Her former BBC Breakfast co-star Dan Walker was among the first to congratulate the couple, sharing a snap of the two on Instagram. He wrote: "Congratulations to Carol and Steve. Steve is one very fortunate gentlemen.
"Carol is the best of us all. She is kind, caring, brilliant at her job and a wonderful person to be around. I wish them every happiness in their new life together." Sally Nugent posted a picture of the two on X, formerly known as Twitter, adding: "Congratulations Carol and Steve. Thrilled to share this beautiful picture of the happy couple."
Presenter Jon Kay commented: "Look at these two!! We are all so very happy for this wonderful couple. Just the loveliest way to end 2023. Forecast: [sunshine and smiley face emojis]. @BBCBreakfast." The happy pair announced their engagement on BBC Breakfast live from the Chelsea Flower Show back in 2022.
Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt revealed the news (BBC Breakfast)Showing off her dazzling engagement ring during a weather at the time, the 61-year-old admitted: "We went out for a picnic, I had absolutely no idea. The weather was glorious, we were sitting chatting... he was fumbling in his pocket and then out came a ring, I thought he was joking actually, I didn't believe him to start with."
Not much is known about Carol's husband Steve, 47, however, she's previously sad he's "extremely handsome" and never fails to make her laugh. "He always makes me a cup of tea before I go to work in the morning, which is very romantic - it's 2.45am," she told Prima Magazine.
"And he often leaves me a little love note for when I come home from work. That, to me, is worth a million red roses," she revealed, telling fans he is "the best thing that's ever happened to me, without a shadow of a doubt".
After divorcing Jimmy, her husband of 25 years, in the late 2000s, Carol embarked on her new relationship with Steve in 2021. She recently said she is happy to enjoy "the simple pleasures in life" now, especially when those involve Steve.
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Carol confirmed her engagement live on BBC Breakfast last year (BBC)In a recent interview, the thing that makes her the happiest of all, she jokes, is when she opens her diary and sees a free weekend with nothing planned, meaning that she and Steve can "make it up as we go along". She added: "So it might be, you know, going into the garden or just going for a long walk with a picnic."
"I love doing that and in the evening sitting in the garden with a glass of wine, just the simple pleasures in life. I would rather do that than be gallivanting off here, there and everywhere, because I’m so busy during the week. I just want to be at home, settled and in my own space."
Carol had not previously named her long-time partner or his surname and, speaking while promoting her debut romantic novel titled Under A Greek Moon in 2021, she told the PA News agency: "He's only a secret boyfriend because I never talk about him.
"I always feel that, through my job, I put myself in the public eye and am very happy, but my partner and my family and my friends haven’t, so I’m hugely respectful of their privacy. I just don't talk about them, other than to say that my partner is drop-dead gorgeous."