After 12 years of marriage, Patrick Kielty and Cat Deeley have announced their split.
In a statement shared on Tuesday, the estranged couple wrote: '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.'
Patrick and Cat first met on the set of Fame Academy in 2002, but both were in relationships at the time. The pair kept in touch with one another, and there was always 'a wee vibe' between them.
Speaking previously to Ryan Tubridy on the Late Late Show, Cat recounted that on one specific birthday of hers, Patrick pulled off a grand, romantic gesture that saw their friendship graduate to romance.
'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,' Cat told Ryan.
'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 Co Down and bolted home to book a 7 am flight to LA for the next day. Understandably, she was taken aback when she saw him the next day.
At the birthday brunch, Cat confessed she was taken by self-confessed romantic Patrick's charm, citing it as the moment she 'slightly fell in love with him'.
Patrick and Cat went on to tie the knot in a private ceremony in Rome in September 2012 after a whirlwind nine months of dating.
They went on to welcome their eldest, Milo, in January 2016, and their youngest, James, in June 2018.
There had been no rumblings that a split was on the horizon for Patrick and Cat, but in March, the This Morning presenter was noticeably absent from her mother-in-law's funeral.
MailOnline has reported that Cat remained in the UK to support her sons Milo and James, who are grieving the loss of their grandmother.
Pic: Getty Images
It was business as usual for the mum-of-two, who did the school run and then co-hosted This Morning alongside Ben Shephard before collecting the boys from school.
A spokesperson told the publication: 'Cat remained at home to be there for her two young children before and after school on this very sad day.'
