Cat Deeley's dramatic divorce and boyfriend who left her 'shell' of old self

16 February 2024 , 09:57

961     0

Cat Deeley has had a whirlwind love life (Image: Getty Images)

Before settling down with husband Patrick Kielty, This Morning's new host Cat Deeley endured a bumpy love life.

This Morning today revealed that Cat and Ben Shephard will be joining as full-time presenters. It comes following months of speculation that the duo will be taking the reins from stand-in presenters who stepped up after Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby quit the programme. Reports previously stated that Cat had turned down the job. But the Mirror revealed that things had changed.

TV couple Cat and Patrick have been married for almost 12 years but first met in the early noughties while working on Fame Academy. Despite becoming firm friends, romance didn't blossom between the couple for 10 years when they embarked on a whirlwind romance, tying the knot after just nine months of dating. But not all of Cat's love stories were so uncomplicated. Cat, 47, suffered heartbreak with her first husband and then again with her actor ex-boyfriend.

Cat pictured with ex-Jack Huston in 2009 (Getty Images)

Patrick Kielty and Cat Deeley tied the knot after dating for nine months (PA)

Here, The Mirror takes a look back at Cat's path to love. Patrick, 53, has insisted "nothing went on" in the early days given they were both with other people when they first laid eyes on each other. He did admit, however, that there was a "wee vibe there." The pair kept in touch as friends during Cat's five-year marriage to PR businessman Mark Whelan.

After their divorce in 2006, the SMTV presenter moved from Birmingham for a new start in LA as the host of So You Think You Can Dance on American TV. After making a name for herself across the pond, Cat started to date Jack Huston, who played Royce King II in the third Twilight film Eclipse, in September 2008. But their romance came to a bitter end after two years.

Phillip Schofield mocks Molly-Mae's baby name in cruel swipe at Love Island star

Then 33, her spokesman confirmed it was she who decided to split from the then 27-year-old actor, citing "work commitments". In a later interview with Red Magazine, the presenter revealed that she was happy being single after a turbulent time, and told how a relationship with an unnamed man left her a 'shell' of her former self.

"You are so much better off on your own than with the wrong person," she asserted, before warning other women: "I'd say to any woman, get out of the bad relationship that's turning you into a shell of your former self. Learn from it, and get out.

"Then wait: enjoy yourself and your friends because, when what you want comes along, you'll spot it." And it soon came along, in the form of a grand gesture by fellow presenter Patrick, who flew across the world to win her over.

Recalling one of her best-ever birthdays that 'changed everything', Cat told The Late Late Show's Ryan Tubridy in 2020: "There was a night where it was the day before my birthday - I can't even remember what birthday it was now! It was 30-something - he called me and he spoke to me on the phone.

The TV star warned other singletons about being with the wrong person before finding love with Patrick (Getty Images)

Patrick took a last-minute flight to surprise Cat for her birthday, and the rest is history (Dave Benett/ Getty Images for Sp)

"He said, 'Oh, what are you doing for your birthday? I'm just ringing to say happy birthday'. I said, 'Oh, we're going to the Beverly Hills Hotel. We're just going to have a late brunch; it's going to be very civilised. It's a shame you're not here, otherwise, you could come".'

At the time, Patrick was in a pub in County Down, but dashed to the airport to catch a 7am flight to LA for the next day. At her birthday brunch, Cat confessed she nearly fell off her chair when Patrick breezed in, confessing at this moment she "slightly fell in love with him".

The couple tied the knot in 2012 after just nine months of dating. They exchanged vows at the scenic St Isidore's College in Rome. However, Cat admitted she was so uninterested in wedding details that she let Patrick take over planning their very "chilled-out ceremony".

Speaking to Closer after the wedding, she said: "Patrick went and tried the food and did all that, I never even saw the place where I got married before I got married, that's how uninvolved I was." She did have one requirement for the special day, however, citing that the guests dressed up to the nines.

"I get to dress up and have really special occasions all the time, so to me, that was the most exciting thing to happen," she shared. After their wedding, the couple welcomed sons, Milo, eight, and James, six.

Before they had James, Cat told the Mirror: "I would love some more. But I have got to get on with it if I do. When you go for your check-ups they call you a 'geriatric mum'. That is the terminology they use, I swear."

Happy Valley star reassures concerned fans as he teases 'mind-blowing' final

Cat and Patrick prefer to keep their private lives private, but their kids do sometimes feature on Cat's Instagram in adorable snaps. Back in 2022, the Birmingham-born star shared some hilarious anecdotes about life as mum, telling The Ellen Show her kids had a "naughty" habit of not wanting to keep their clothes on. With the audience giggling, she joked: "It's fine now but not when they are 17 and doing it in supermarkets."

The family now reside in a £4.9 million 1950s home in leafy Hampstead, boasting Harry Styles as one of their famous neighbours. They decided to make the return to the UK from sunny California in 2020, after the husband and son duo were caught up in a terrifying mall shooting.

They were at the Century City Mall in LA when FBI agents started ordering shoppers to take cover because there was a shooter on the loose. Cat told You magazine in 2020: "They shut down the centre. I got a call from Paddy, saying, 'They're taking us out through the fire exits but nobody can get to their car. If we walk to a junction, can you come and get us?' He wanted to keep Milo calm, so I didn't understand the enormity of what was happening."

The mum-of-two recalled seeing helicopters, vans, firemen and SWAT [armed police response] squads as she was driving. She told the publication it was 'terrifying' and 'fear' was part of their decision to move back. She was also unnerved when looking at schools in America for Milo, as kids are taught how to react if there is a live shooter on the premises. "The danger suddenly becomes a reality," she said.

Saffron Otter