Vernon Kay praised wife Tess Daly’s ‘independence’ when they first met, as it has emerged that the once-solid couple were living separate lives before their split.
The couple announced their separation on Friday, admitting they had agonised over the decision but were determined to remain supportive parents to their daughters, Phoebe, 21, and Amber, 16.
They started dating after meeting in 2001, with Vernon going on to pop the question the following year on Christmas Day.
Recalling their initial encounter, he told The Telegraph: ‘She didn’t know anyone except me because we’d worked together that day – she spotted me in a crowd and we had a laugh.
‘I was instantly attracted by how independent Tess was, and that’s not changed at all.’
The pair went on to get married in Horwich, near where Kay grew up in Lancashire, the following September.
Vernon Kay praised wife Tess Daly’s ‘independence’ when they first met, as it has emerged that the once-solid couple were living separate lives before their split
They started dating after meeting in 2001, with Vernon proposing the following year on Christmas Day (pictured during their younger days)
It comes after a source told Daily Mail’s Katie Hind that the couple were living separate lives before their split.
They said: ‘Basically, without meaning to, they’ve been living separate lives. They don’t really do much together any more, they have different interests and hobbies.
‘They had grown apart. They acknowledged that and decided that life would be better if they were to split.
Read Katie’s full article, where friends of the couple revealed what really went on behind closed doors.
On Friday the pair released a joint statement, revealing that they had reached a mutual agreement to go their separate ways, though friends of the couple said they were both still at their marital home in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, yesterday.
The couple 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 of what is best for both of us. 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. We kindly ask for privacy during this time.
In a heartbreaking statement, the two revealed they had decided to split after ‘much consideration, and a deep sense of care and respect for one another’
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All the signs Tess Daly and Vernon Kay had split: From separate family outings to changing dynamics
‘We will not be making any further public comments.’
Tess and Vernon – thought to be worth around £10million – were last seen publicly together in February of this year when they hosted an episode of The One Show. They are also food ambassadors for Marks & Spencer.
Friends of the two, who met while presenting Top Of The Pops@Play together in 2001, were stunned to learn of the news.
One said: ‘When Vernon told me, I was stunned, I didn’t see it coming, nobody did. This is going to take some getting used to.’
But while it may have come as a surprise to outsiders, sources close to Tess and Vernon say they have spent a ‘significant’ amount of time coming to the decision.
Their two daughters, Phoebe, 21, and Amber, 16, were ‘completely involved’ in the conversations.
‘Tess and Vernon are actually really, really happy now,’ says a friend. ‘They’re still living together for now though that will of course change in the near future. The girls were very much part of the decision. They had grown apart, they are different to when they first met. They acknowledged that and decided life would be better if they were to split. They are both in their 50s, they have so much time left and they have decided they would be happier not being together so that’s what they’ve done. It is all very, very amicable.
‘They have lived through so much together, they have had so many happy times.
‘They have had more than two decades of laughs and are extremely proud of their girls but they know splitting is for the best.’
Sources say there is no third party involved and it is understood that divorce lawyers are yet to be instructed but that the plan is to do so down the line.
The couple began dating back in the early 2000s when Tess hosted children’s show SMTV and Vernon was a model trying to make it as a television presenter.
They were widely regarded as a bubbly, carefree pairing – when they married at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Horwich, near Bolton where Vernon grew up, they had a VW camper van as a wedding car.
They have been regarded as one of the strongest marriages in showbusiness, despite Vernon being caught ‘sexting’ Page 3 model Rhian Sugden in 2010.
Tess was devastated when she learned that Vernon had been messaging Rhian, 39, after meeting in a Bolton nightclub.
While they didn’t have a sexual relationship, a distraught Tess battled to save their marriage and eventually forgave him.
Rhian later spoke about the scandal in Channel 4 documentary Page Three: The Naked Truth. She said: ‘He just got away with it. It ruined everything for me. I felt like I was going up and up with my career and then that came along. I wish I’d never met him. He got to give an apology on the radio and just got to carry on, with Family Fortunes, ironically. It still makes me feel sick.’
Vernon also admitted to sending flirty messages to ‘four or five girls’ during the same period.
‘I’ve let down my wife Tess. I’m an idiot,’ he confessed on-air. ‘I’ve been stupid and daft but I’m not a sex pest.’ Vernon’s extra-marital activities didn’t only devastate Tess but also saw his career take a nose dive. Once the golden boy of ITV, he struggled to get high-profile, lucrative work.
Their split comes just five months after Tess hosted her last ever Strictly, which she had fronted with the late Sir Bruce Forsyth since it launched in 2004, followed by Claudia Winkleman.
Even during the last series, Vernon was a regular at Elstree Studios, where the programme is made, to support his wife. A friend of Tess’s said: ‘It’s all changed for her within six or seven months. She’s happy.’
