Cat Deeley and her husband Patrick Kielty announced their split earlier today (July 29).
They share two children – nine-year-old Milo and James, seven – and own a beautiful home.
However, now the couple – who met on Fame Academy in 2002 – face dismantling their Instagram-worthy life together. And that will likely include dividing up their £5m Hampstead home…
When did Cat Deeley meet husband Patrick Kielty?
Cat Deeley, 48, met Patrick Kielty, 54, back in 2002, when working on Fame Academy. However, they didn’t strike up a relationship until a decade later. The pair then fell hard and, after a whirlwind nine-month romance, tied the knot in a private ceremony in Rome.
Patrick previously said during an interview on This Morning: “If we had got together at the start, we could have got on one another’s nerves. All things came at the right time.”
When Cat was with her ex Mark Whelan, Patrick admitted that there was a “wee vibe there”. However, he has insisted “nothing went on”. Instead, Cat has told how he wooed her by catching a flight from Ireland to the States to surprise her for her birthday.
Transatlantic dash to woo her
She 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.
“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 brunch, Cat confessed she nearly fell off her chair when Patrick breezed in, confessing this was the moment she “slightly fell in love with him”.
He has said: “I am an absolute born romantic. If I’d a quid for every rom-com I’ve cried at… I followed my heart all the way to Los Angeles to surprise my now-wife for lunch. 12 years and two kids later, I think it worked out.”
Move to the US
The couple later moved their family Stateside, so that Cat could pursue her presenting career in the US. They moved back to the UK in 2020, after selling their reported £3.8m Beverly Hills mansion.
Cat previously told You magazine that “fear was part of this”, when discussing the family’s reasoning for moving back to the UK.
She said: “There was a moment when I was with a friend looking at potential schools for Milo and we had to ask the question nobody wants to: ‘What do you do if there is a live shooter on the premises?'”
Cat Deeley and husband Patrick Kielty’s London home
Back in 2023, after returning to Blighty, it was reported that the pair had bought and restored a 1950s doer-upper in London’s Hampstead for their young family.
Published in the MailOnline, the plans for the home revealed: “It is inspired by mid-twentieth design ranging from the designs of Alvar Aalto to houses of the west coast of America which are familiar to the clients who spent many years living there. Materials have also been introduced that connect the clients to their previous home in LA and to places that have significant memories for them.”
Cat has previously given a glimpse into a home she was sharing with her family. The house which Cat showed glimpses of on Instagram in November 2023 flaunted a spacious kitchen with chic, dark wood cabinets and minimalistic white marble countertops.
Now, though, it will likely form part of a divorce settlement.
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Patrick Kielty’s ‘tricky’ juggling act with wife Cat Deeley
Patrick has hosted RTÉ’s The Late Late Show since 2023, having taken over from Ryan Tubridy to become the talk show’s fourth permanent presenter. He also presents a Saturday morning programme on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Cat, meanwhile, co-hosts ITV’s This Morning with Ben Shephard, meaning she’s in the studio everyday except Friday, with early starts. But that’s just the half of it.
“There was a moment after Christmas that was tricky,” Patrick told the Times last year, meaning Christmas 2023. Cat’s show, So You Think You Can Dance?, had started filming its 18th season in late December.
“She had to fly to Atlanta for seven weeks. There was a wee bit of a juggle there. But I think with all these things, as long as you have a routine, it doesn’t take as much fizz out of you as some people think.”
Even when Cat made her return to the This Morning studio, they found a way to manage juggle everything.
“Because Cat’s doing her stuff in the morning, she would normally be back just after lunchtime. And we’ve got the start of the week and the weekends together, so it’s not ‘Hi/bye,” he said.
Separate beds
However, Cat admitted that their hectic schedules did have an impact on their marriage. In fact, she previously revealed that they’d often sleep in separate beds.
She explained during a This Morning segment in May 2024 that work affects their sleeping arrangements.
Cat said: “It’s one of those things… because of our schedule here [on This Morning], from Monday to Thursday I sleep in the guest bedroom. And the rest of the time I’m back. As otherwise I get up at 5am and I want to fall asleep earlier.”
Cat Deeley and Patrick Kielty split
Earlier today (July 29), the couple shared the news that they had split.
In a statement, they said: “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.”
Read more: Why Cat Deeley missed the funeral of Patrick Kielty’s mother
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