Kirstie Allsopp and TV husband Phil Spencer have one of the most beloved partnerships on telly – but who is her real-life husband?
The property hunting duo have been regulars on telly screens for more than two decades, thanks to programmes such as Love It Or List It – which returns today (May 24) – and Location, Location, Location.
Away from the hit shows, though, Kirstie is loved-up with her husband Ben Andersen. But when did they first start dating?
Kirstie Allsopp was introduced to husband by his ex-wife
Kirstie and Ben first met back in 2004, during a party for a prospective Conservative MP.
At the time, Ben and his ex-wife Theresa – who was Kirstie’s school friend – had only been separated for five months. The former couple share sons Oron and Hal.
Speaking to the Evening Standard in 2012, Kirstie denied rumours that she had ‘stolen’ Ben from Theresa.
“I did not [steal him]. I met Ben at a party for a prospective Tory MP friend of mine, Orlando Fraser,” she said.
Kirstie added: “Ben’s wife, whom I knew at school and whom he was already separated from, introduced us.”
She also recalled that time in her life and told the Mirror in 2009: “Of course people fall in love with other people’s husbands. But luckily when I met Ben and fell in love with him, he was no longer anybody else’s husband.”
Kirstie on stepmum struggles
Kirstie and Ben share two sons, Bay, 18, and Oscar, 16. She is also a stepmum to two Ben’s son Orion and Hal.
The TV star has previously opened up about her relationships with her stepchildren.
Writing for MailOnline in 2021, Kirstie revealed she has “put more thought and effort” into her relationship with her stepchildren “than anything else in my life”.
However, she then called out the stereotype that stepmothers are often faced with.
“From Hansel and Gretel to Cinderella and even Baroness Schraeder in The Sound Of Music, the stepmother is habitually depicted as some old hag who wishes nothing but evil on her stepchildren,” she said.
Kirstie continued: “We don’t fill our children’s books with ghastly dentists or doctors, because we know making our kids scared of them would be damaging. So why do we allow this stereotype about step-parenthood to persist?
“We got such a bad rap because, in the past, if you had a stepmother it usually meant your mother had died, and your father may have married someone else, who, most probably, had also lost a spouse and had children of her own to look out for.”
Kirstie on why she didn’t want to marry Ben?
In January 2025, Kirstie shocked fans when she announced that she and Ben had got married.
The wedding, which guests reportedly only found out details about last minute, took place at the Grosvenor Chapel in Mayfair.
However, in the past, Kirstie revealed she wasn’t a fan of weddings, and she didn’t plan to tie the knot with Ben.
She said in MailOnline in 2020: “There is another upside to not being married. I don’t want the attention of being a bride. I’m not a fan of the staggering, never-ending self-absorption of ‘my big day’. Have you noticed how rarely you hear ‘our big day’?”
Kirstie then quipped: “The rigmarole of getting married has got completely out of control.”
Meanwhile in 2016, Kirstie also opened up about her thoughts on marriage.
“Ben has been married previously. So initially it was he who was reluctant to do it,” she told Woman magazine.
Kirstie added: “And then I was reluctant to get married because I just think, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Watch Kirstie and Phil on Love It Or List It on Saturday (May 24) at 3:55pm on Channel 4.
Read more: Phil Spencer shares his concerns for TV wife Kirstie Allsopp: ‘It’s awful to witness’
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