Tess Daly left fans shocked today (8 May) when she announced that she and husband Vernon Kay have split after 22 years of marriage.
Sharing a statement to her social media the star, who stepped down from Strictly Come Dancing duties in December, wrote: ‘After much consideration, and with a deep sense of care and respect for one another, we have made the decision to separate amicably. This has not been an easy choice, but it comes from a place of mutual understanding and a shared desire for what is best for both of us.’
While the breakdown of their marriage has come as a surprise to fans, over the years their relationship has weathered many storms. Here, woman&home looks at their relationship timeline…
The now-estrangted couple met in 2001, when they were both up-and-coming TV presenters. Tess, 57, worked on ITV’s SMTV, while Vernon hosted Channel 4’s T4. Sparks soon flew, with the businesswoman later admitting: ‘It was all quite immediate, really, because we instantly had such a blast together… It was pretty explosive, I tell you.’
On Christmas Day the following year, Vernon, 52, got down on one knee, and in September 2003 they exchanged vows at St Mary’s Church in his hometown of Horwich. A year later they welcomed their first child, daughter Phoebe, 21, before later expanding their family in 2009 with Amber, 17.
However, in 2010 their marriage hit a rough patch after it emerged that Vernon had been sending explicit text messages to model Rhian Sugden. While Vernon stated he never had a physical affair, he addressed the situation, saying, ‘[It was a] stupid decision.’
He added, ‘I have let down a lot of people. To my family and everybody, I am very sorry.’
But, six years later he found himself in the headlines again after it was revealed that he had been back in contact with Rhian. However, he told fans, ‘I recognise how it may look when messages are pulled out of context but there was never any inappropriate intent to our communication, I was merely trying to find answers to questions that I’ve had since 2010.’
The couple seemed to move past it, though, and in 2013 the BBC Radio 2 presenter surprised Tess by organising a secret vow renewal ceremony during a trip to France.
‘I booked a weekend in our favourite hotel in the South of France and I spoke to her (Tess) stylist at the time and I said I needed four dresses… She didn’t know anything,” he revealed during his stint on I’m a Celebrity in 2020.
‘I gave her a card and it said congratulations on your second wedding day and I said we’re going to renew our vows. We went to the reception and her Mum, my parents, the kids and my brother were waiting and she was like ‘oh my god’ – we had such a lovely day.’
However, despite this, two years later Tess suggested that things weren’t always rosy within their relationship, confessing, ‘Marriage is a work in progress. Vernon and I are just people, at the end of the day.’
Nevertheless, the pair have continued to support one another publicly in recent years, with Vernon gushing that his wife was a ‘huge inspiration’ when she was awarded an MBE at Buckingham Palace in November last year.
And, just last month they enjoyed a family holiday to the Caribbean together.
Prior to their split Tess previously credited their shared backgrounds for the success of their marriage. ‘There’s an unspoken understanding between us, because we come from similar stock. We come from similar families. We’ve been brought up in a very similar way, really. I guess that’s one of the reasons I always felt so comfortable with him,’ she said.
In the statement, which former Family Fortunes host Vernon later shared to his own social media, Tess said that it had ‘not been an easy choice’ but ‘comes from a place of mutual understanding and a shared desire for what is best for both of us.’
She concluded, ‘We remain great friends and most importantly, fully committed to our roles as loving and supportive parents, which will always be our priority.There are no other parties involved in this decision.’
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