Carol Kirkwood's heartbreaking divorce that left her in 'puddle of tears'

29 December 2023 , 11:35

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Carol was married for almost 20 years (Image: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

Carol Kirkwood struggled after the end of her first marriage that left her drowning in a “puddle of tears”.

The 61-year-old BBC Breakfast weather presenter stunned fans when she announced she had wed her partner Steve in a romantic and festive ceremony on Wednesday. “It was the most perfect and romantic and intimate wedding. We are both so incredibly happy,” the smitten star told BBC Breakfast on Friday.

While she’s found love once again with Steve, sadly for Carol, her love life has seen her suffer serious heartbreak over the years. She was first married to Jimmy Kirkwood, a former field hockey and cricket player from Northern Ireland, and the couple tied the knot in 1990.

Carol has found love again with new husband Steve (Can Nguyen/REX/Shutterstock)

She's happier than ever, but has had her fair share of heartbreak (WireImage)

Little is known about their relationship, and Carol briefly touched upon it in her book Under The Greek Moon, which was released in 2021. She was just 28 when they married, and had started working at the BBC. But almost 20 years after they exchanged vows, Carol and Jimmy divorced in 2008, keeping the reason for their split under wraps.

In her book Under The Greek Moon, she wrote that the divorce from Jimmy was “all so shocking to me”, and heartbreakingly confessed she would break down in tears just moments before having to appear in front of the cameras on BBC Breakfast. “In a funny way though, that helped with the healing process,” she recalled. “I put my grief into a compartment which I kept separate from my work, otherwise I’d have ended up in a puddle of tears. Work kept me going.”

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Carol has since shared how the divorce has impacted her self-confidence, and admitted she was much braver now than she was when she was married. “I started to do things and to think, ‘I’m not going to say no, I’m going to say yes!’ I’m braver now,” she told the Radio Times in 2018. “I've flown with the Red Arrows, jumped out of planes with the Red Devils. When I was younger I would never have done that because I'd have thought, 'Too dangerous!' Now I think, 'Oh, you've got to live your life!'”

She said she used to cry before appearing on BBC Breakfast during her divorce (BBC)

Carol has rarely spoken about her first marriage - and subsequent divorce - but she did reveal she felt she may have got married too young. “I was married for a long time and I got married quite young so it’s nice doing things I have the freedom to do now,” Carol told The Sun. “If I want to go out to the theatre or go out with friends for dinner, I've got that freedom.”

Thankfully, Carol has now found happiness with Steve, and the couple got engaged in May last year. “We went out for a picnic, I had absolutely no idea,” she said while showing off her new engagement ring on BBC Breakfast. “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.”

Emma Wilson