TV stars Cat Deeley and Patrick Kielty have announced their separation after more than a decade of marriage.

TV stars Cat Deeley and Patrick Kielty have shocked fans by announcing their split after more than a decade of marriage in a bombshell statement.

The couple met while hosting BBC’s Fame Academy together in 2002, but only made their first public appearance as a couple nine years later in 2011. They wed a year later in September 2012 at a ceremony in Rome and have two children together.

They said in a joint statement to the PA news agency: “We have taken the decision to end our marriage and are now separated. There is no other party involved.

“We will continue to be united as loving parents to our children and would therefore kindly ask for our family privacy to be respected.

“There will be no further comment.”

Cat has hosted ITV’s This Morning alongside Ben Shephard since early last year, and previously lived in Los Angeles for more than 10 years.

Cat Deeley and Patrick Kielty have announced their split (
Image:
hoto by David Livingston/Getty Images)
She hosted the US series So You Think You Can Dance, also appearing on SM:TV Live with TV duo Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly from 1998 to 2002.

She also previously co-hosted BBC singing contest Fame Academy and took over ITV’s Stars In Their Eyes from Matthew Kelly.

Northern Irish presenter Patrick, 54, is the host of RTE talk show The Late Late Show, having taken over from Ryan Tubridy in 2023.

News of the couple’s romance came as a shock in 2012 as they had been friends for years, with Patrick soon moving into her £1.7million Beverley Hills mansion after revealing that they had been dating.

The couple were first brought together via the BBC show Fame Academy (
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BBC)
Cat enjoyed much success in the US, racking up five Emmy nominations and making an estimated £15million fortune. However, she decided to swap her life in the US to move back to the UK and host This Morning.

It’s unclear when the couple split, but their time apart due to conflicting schedules in Ireland and London may have contributed to their break-up. The last time Cat referenced Patrick on her Instagram was in October 2023 with an unusual 90s-themed slideshow of the pair of them. She wrote: “Slightly terrifying but obsessed.”

Their last public event appearance came a month earlier. At the time, she also shared a post on her social media with the duo smiling at the event as they got ready for the occasion and then sat in the crowd. Patrick was later seen in the clip being welcomed on stage.

Cat shared on her Instagram at the time: “Magical evening last night at the London Premiere of @BallywalterFilm!. Celebrating the talents of @PatricKielty & @SeanaKerslake, director @PrasannaBanana, and the brilliant cast & crew! (+ @EdiBow… the hostess with the mostest!) #BallywalterFilm is in cinemas very soon on 9/22 !!”

Patrick Kielty and Cat Deeley have split (
Image:
PA Archive)

However, last summer, the pair seemed to be enjoying time together during a trip to Saint Tropez. At one point during the day out at the beach in France, Cat appeared to be super loved-up with Patrick as they soaked up the sun and stood in the sea. The couple seemingly couldn’t keep their hands off each other, with the Irish comedian wrapping his hands around his wife’s waist.

In March this year, Cat missed husband Patrick’s mum’s funeral in Northern Ireland. Heartbreaking pictures showed a grief-stricken Patrick carrying her coffin through the streets.

Hundreds turned out to line the streets as those close to Mary and her family came together for a ceremony at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Dundrum.

At the time, a spokesperson told the Mirror that Cat had remained at home to care for their young sons Milo and James. They said: “Cat remained at home to be there for her two young children before and after school on this very sad day.”