The Chase's Mark Labbett's bitter split from second cousin ex-wife amid new love
The Chase star Mark Labbett has reportedly found love again two years after the breakdown of his marriage to Katie, who has his second cousin.
Mark, who is also known under his quizzing nickname The Beast, is said to have began dating TV presenter Hayley Palmer, who is 16 years his junior.
Chaser Mark, 57, and 41-year-old Hayley are said to be keeping things low-key but are understood to be having a "really good time" together after being introduced through work.
Mark's new reported romance comes two years on from the end of his marriage to Katie, who is 17 years his junior.
The pair first met on Facebook in 2010 but the pair didn't hit things off until 2012 after Mark invited Katie to watch a filming of a celebrity special of The Chase.
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Katie previously said she had no idea Mark was a TV star before the pair got together.
Mark Labbett has been rumoured to be dating TV presenter Hayley Palmer (markthebeastlabbett/Instagram)
Mark's new romance comes two years after his split from wife Katie (Getty Images Europe)She said: "I had never heard of Mark, or watched The Chase, but my gran mentioned him so I was intrigued."
Mark and Katie then tied the knot in 2014 at Arundel Cathedral in West Sussex and went on to welcome son Lawrence.
The pair have both insisted they didn't know they were second cousins – as Mark and Katie's dad are first cousins – when they tied the knot.
Quizmaster Mark previously explained on Loose Women: "It wasn't something we were aware of at the time – it was one of those things that happened."
Around 18 months before the couple split in 2020, Mark and Katie began an open marriage, after Mark's wife began a relationship with senior design engineer Scott.
The pair had no idea they were related until after they wed (Brett D. Cove / Splash News)
Mark was very open about his relationship with Katie, who was 27 years his junior (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Mark previously discussed how the arrangement came about as he told The Sun: "When Katie first came clean to me about her boyfriend, I’d had an inkling.
"But right from the start, my attitude was quite pragmatic — this was spilt milk, what could we do about the situation to make it OK?
"We had a family. We couldn't just throw that away lightly. There were other considerations."
The couple blamed their 27-year age gap and Covid-19 lockdown restrictions for their marital woes as they announced their split in August 2020.
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Mark and Katie's romance became an open one (ITV)But, Mark insisted there was "never any deceit" from Katie, who reportedly met Scott on a night out.
Mark moved out of the couple's shared home as he admitted Katie's relationship with Scott had taken its toll.
However, Mark revealed the pair hadn't discussed divorcing and added: "That will only happen if one of us decides we want to re-marry."
Speaking two years on from the split, Mark said earlier this month: "I’m single now. We are separated but we get on really well, we co-parent.
The pair split after the open marriage arrangement took its toll (S Meddle/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
The pair split after the open marriage arrangement took its toll (Jonathan Hordle/REX/Shutterstock)"I promised to look after her and I promised to look after my kid."
Mark went on to explain that he attracts a lot of attention from women and has to tell "young ladies who are only 19 or 20" to leave him alone when he attends student gigs.
The Beast has even had to hire a personal guard for public events, due to the fact female fans will attempt to grope and sexually assault him.
He added how he had adapted to single life and was "getting used to the idea of being on my own".
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