Cat Deeley appeared upbeat as she made her return to This Morning after announcing her divorce from Patrick Kielty this July.
The 48-year-old presenter told viewers of the ITV daytime programme she’d had a “lovely summer” with “lots of beach action, family, friends, kids” and “ice creams as big as your head” during the break.
Deeley added she was nevertheless “really excited to come back to work” to present This Morning alongside Ben Shepherd from Monday to Thursday after the extended time off.
Kielty and Deeley announced their separation after 13 years of marriage in a joint statement this summer, making clear there was “no other party involved” in their decision to end their relationship.
“We will continue to be united as loving parents to our children and would therefore kindly ask for our family privacy to be respected,” they said. The couple share two sons; Milo, eight, and James, six.
Before marrying Kielty, Deeley was married to businessman Mark Whelan for five years. Meanwhile, Kielty was in a relationship with Irish model Amanda Bryam for five years, separating in 2003.
Deeley and Kielty hosted Fame Academy together for two seasons in 2002 and 2003 before becoming romantically involved years later.
The couple wed in September 2012 at a ceremony in Rome and lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade before returning to London.
Deeley has hosted ITV’s This Morning alongside Ben Shephard since early last year, when the pair took over from former hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.
Schofield stepped down in May 2023 following an “unwise but not illegal” relationship with a junior colleague. Meanwhile, Willoughby exited the show days after a kidnap plot against her.
Deeley started her career appearing on SM:TV Live with Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly from 1998 to 2002.
After various hosting jobs in the UK, including ITV’s Stars In Their Eyes she hosted the US series So You Think You Can Dance from 2006, for which she received five Emmy nominations.
Following her This Morning appointment in February 2024, Deeley dubbed the daytime show “a national institution” and said she and Shepherd would “do our best to take care of it”.
