Cat Deeley’s rollercoaster love life from Patrick Kielty to ex who ‘turned her into shell’

This Morning host Cat Deeley and comedian Patrick Kielty have confirmed news of their split after 13 years of marriage, but before the stars got together, the presenter’s love life faced other complications

This Morning host Cat Deeley, 48, and Northern Irish comedian and presenter Patrick Kielty have announced their separation in a joint statement issued on Tuesday after 13 years of marriage.

The couple 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.”

Long before the sad news of her divorce from Patrick, Cat had experienced a turbulent romantic journey. Prior to meeting Patrick, Cat experienced devastation with her first husband and subsequently with her former partner, actor Jack Huston.

Cat and RTÉ One’s The Late Late Show presenter Patrick initially crossed paths in the early 2000s whilst working together on Fame Academy.

Although they developed a strong friendship, romantic feelings didn’t emerge between them for a decade before they began a relationship, marrying after merely nine months together.

Patrick, 54, has maintained that “nothing went on” initially, since they were both involved with other partners when they first met on the BBC show. He did acknowledge, though, that there was a “wee vibe there.”

The duo remained friends throughout Cat’s five-year marriage to PR executive Mark Whelan. Following their divorce in 2006, the SMTV host relocated from Birmingham to LA for a fresh start, taking on presenting duties for So You Think You Can Dance on American television.

After establishing herself stateside, Cat began dating Jack Huston, who portrayed Royce King II in the third Twilight instalment, Eclipse, in September 2008.

However, their relationship ended acrimoniously after two years. At the time, Cat’s representative confirmed she had initiated the split from the then 27-year-old actor, citing “work commitments”.

In a subsequent interview with Red Magazine, the presenter disclosed she was content being single following a challenging period, revealing how a relationship with an unidentified man had left her a ‘shell’ of her former self.

“You are so much better off on your own than with the wrong person,” she declared, before cautioning other women: “I’d say to any woman, get out of the bad relationship that’s turning you into a shell of your former self. Learn from it, and get out.

“Then wait: enjoy yourself and your friends because, when what you want comes along, you’ll spot it.”

And it arrived shortly after, through a dramatic romantic gesture by fellow presenter Patrick, who travelled across the globe to date her.

Remembering one of her most memorable birthdays that ‘transformed everything’, Cat shared with 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’.”

Patrick was enjoying a pint in a County Down pub at the time, but rushed to the airport to catch a 7am flight to LA the following day.

At her birthday brunch, Cat revealed she nearly tumbled off her chair when Patrick strolled in, admitting that in this moment, she “slightly fell in love with him”.

The pair got hitched in 2012 after a whirlwind nine-month romance. They said their vows at the picturesque St Isidore’s College in Rome.

However, Cat revealed she was so disinterested in wedding preparations that she allowed Patrick to take charge of organising their very “chilled-out ceremony”.

Chatting to Closer following the wedding, she revealed: “Patrick went and tried the food and did all that, I never even saw the place where I got married before I got married, that’s how uninvolved I was.”

She did have one demand for the big day, however, insisting that the guests dressed to impress.

“I get to dress up and have really special occasions all the time, so to me, that was the most exciting thing to happen,” she revealed.

Following their wedding, the couple welcomed sons, Milo, nine, and James, seven. Before they had James, Cat told the Mirror: “I would love some more. But I have got to get on with it if I do. When you go for your check-ups they call you a ‘geriatric mum’. That is the terminology they use, I swear.”

Cat and Patrick tend to keep their family life out of the spotlight, though their youngsters do occasionally appear on Cat’s Instagram in sweet photos.

Back in 2022, the Birmingham-born presenter shared some amusing stories about motherhood, revealing to The Ellen Show that her children had a “naughty” tendency of refusing to keep their clothes on.

With the audience chuckling, she quipped: “It’s fine now but not when they are 17 and doing it in supermarkets.”

Cat and Patrick chose to relocate back to the UK from sunny California in 2020, following a frightening incident when the comedian and his son were caught up in a terrifying mall shooting.

They were shopping at the Century City Mall in LA when FBI officers began instructing customers to take shelter because there was a gunman at large.

Cat explained to You magazine in 2020: “They shut down the centre. I got a call from Paddy, saying, ‘They’re taking us out through the fire exits but nobody can get to their car. If we walk to a junction, can you come and get us?’ He wanted to keep Milo calm, so I didn’t understand the enormity of what was happening.”

The mother of two remembered seeing helicopters, vans, firemen and SWAT [armed police response] squads as she was driving. She described the experience to the publication as ‘terrifying’, stating that ‘fear’ played a part in their decision to return home.

She also felt uneasy when considering American schools for her son Milo, as children are taught how to respond in the event of an active shooter on site. “The danger suddenly becomes a reality,” she expressed.