Tess Daly last night decided to spend her evening showing her appreciation for her famous friends on social media while skipping the Bafta TV Awards amid her split from Vernon Kay.
The former Strictly Come Dancing star, 57, was noticeably absent from the event at London’s Royal Festival Hall, after she and Kay announced on Friday they were splitting following 23 years of marriage.
While Ms Daly opted not to attend the awards, she did show her delight for long-time pal Claudia Winkleman, after The Celebrity Traitors triumphed in the Reality category.
Ms Winkleman shared a snap of the win on Instagram, along with the caption: ‘Thank you thank you @BAFTA we are SO happy ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️.’
And Ms Daly commented on her friend’s post: ‘The very best. Love you.’
The couple said on Friday they had agonised over the decision to split but were determined to remain supportive parents to their daughters, Phoebe, 21, and Amber, 16.
Tess Daly spent Sunday’s BAFTA TV Awards showing her appreciation for her famous pals on Instagram, after skipping the ceremony following her split from Vernon Kay
The Strictly Come Dancing star was noticeably absent from the awards, while her former co-host Claudia Winkleman triumphed in the Reality category for Celebrity Traitors
They started dating in 2001, with Kay going on to pop the question the following year on Christmas Day.
The pair went on to get married in Horwich, near where Kay grew up in Lancashire, the following September.
It comes after a source told the Daily Mail’s Katie Hind that the couple were living separate lives before their split.
Read Katie’s full article here, 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.
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.
After Ms Winkleman posted a snap celebrating her win on Instagram, the former Strictly co-host showed her delight for her pal in the comments
‘We will not be making any further public comments.’
Kay and Ms Daly – 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 the spin-off 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 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 Ms Daly hosted children’s show SMTV and Kay 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 they had a VW camper van as a wedding car.
They have been regarded as one of the strongest marriages in show business, despite Kay being caught ‘sexting’ Page Three model Rhian Sugden in 2010.
Ms Daly was devastated when she learned that her husband had been messaging Ms Sugden, 39, after meeting her in a Bolton nightclub.
While they didn’t have a sexual relationship, a distraught Ms Daly battled to save their marriage and eventually forgave him.
Ms Sugden 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.’
Kay 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.’
Kay’s extra-marital activities 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 Ms Daly 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, Kay was a regular at Elstree Studios, where the programme is made, to support his wife. A friend of Ms Daly’s said: ‘It’s all changed for her within six or seven months. She’s happy.’
