Ruth Jones’ Ex-Husband Moves to Small Canadian Village with Lookalike Girlfriend

Ruth Jones’ former husband David Peet has left his life behind in the UK to relocate to a small village in Canada to be with his new girlfriend. 

And the pair have already gone social media official after she posted a new picture of the pair kissing on Facebook.

Mailonline can reveal the TV executive has moved to Port Hardy, located on the northern tip of Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

Home to just 4,000 people, David has chosen to start afresh with Jayne Charity Cook, a 46-year-old digital creator, despite having three children and businesses back home.

And now Jayne has posted her first snap of the couple since their relationship was revealed by MailOnline on Thursday morning, sparking a flurry of supportive comments from pals.

One wrote: ‘I’m so glad you found someone that makes you absolutely happy, you are glowing so bright.’

Ruth Jones’ former husband David Peet has already left his life in the UK behind and has settled in a small Canadian village with his new Gavin & Stacey lookalike girlfriend (pictured together) 

David, 71, and Ruth, 58, announced their marriage split on Wednesday, 24 hours after Mailonline approached his new girlfriend in Canada to ask if they were in a relationship

Another added: ‘You both look so happy. I love this for you.’

David split from the Gavin & Stacey star, who he was married to for 27 years, 18 months ago and is believed to have been living in Canada with his new partner for several months.

An insider said: ‘It’s a bold move across the Atlantic.

‘But David saw it as a new chapter in his life and an exciting opportunity he couldn’t ignore.’

David, 71, and Ruth, 58, announced their marriage split on Wednesday, 24 hours after Mailonline approached his new girlfriend in Canada to ask if they were in a relationship.

They released a joint statement, writing: ‘We amicably went our separate ways 18 months ago and are now legally separated. We remain good friends.

‘Since our separation, Ruth is living in London and David is living in Canada, where he is in a new relationship.’

Jayne appeared to make her relationship with David public via her Facebook page in April after setting a cosy snap of the pair as her profile picture.

David split from the Gavin & Stacey star, who he was married to for 27 years, 18 months ago and is believed to have been living in Canada for several months (Ruth and David pictured)

The TV executive has moved to Port Hardy, located on the northern tip of Vancouver Island in British Columbia (pictured) which is home to just 4,000 people

Jayne appeared to make her relationship with David public via her Facebook page in April after setting a cosy snap of the pair as her profile picture 

She also shared snaps of the couple on her Threads page around the same time, writing ‘spent the weekend with my love and had an amazing time.’

She describes herself as ‘a MommaBear and being a great Friend, Lover, Partner, Daughter, Sister’ and has two adult children – Alexander and Isabella – plus she is a doting grandmother to Alexander’s son and Isabella’s two girls.

She has worked as an Education Assistant at the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw School on the Tsulquate Reserve since 2016.

Meanwhile national treasure Ruth is stepmother to David’s three children from a previous relationship – Fiona, 35, Louise, 33 and Alex, 31 – and is believed to be close to them, taking on the role of grandmother to their children.

The former couple used to split their time between their two properties in Cardiff and the Scottish Highlands, where they own a holiday home.

In recent months, Ruth has made a string of appearances without her wedding ring, including on stage at the Bath Literary Festival in May, where she was promoting her new novel, By Your Side.

Intriguingly, the book centres around a recent divorcee, Linda, who Ruth says is loosely based on herself – and is a fuller-figured teetotal woman in her 50s.

She told her audience Linda had recently abandoned a long marriage after realising she had become ‘friends’ with her husband, but triggered a break up after he had an affair with a work colleague.

The star added: ‘The other thing I really love about her is that she (Linda) was married and she got divorced and she gets on fine with her ex-husband.

‘It was never a really great big romantic marriage. They got on fine. They had a good sex life but that was kind of it.

‘They were good friends. When he (the husband) went off with Denise at his place of work, and ran off to run a cafe in Spain called Doolallies, she was quite happy to see him go.’

Their split comes after Ruth’s iconic character Nessa finally married on-off lover Smithy, played by co-writer James Corden, in the 2024 Christmas Special of Gavin & Stacey, watched by 12.3million viewers.

Ruth was seen wearing her wedding ring as she accepted the BAFTA for best female performance in a comedy last month

However Ruth omitted David from her acceptance speech and paid a tribute to the cast and crew of Gavin & Stacey, namely her writing partner James whom she said: ‘I love you James’

The episode, titled The Finale, was the last ever instalment of the comedy classic, which first aired in 2007. She previously worked with her husband on the 2009 Gavin & Stacey Christmas Special.

Her performance as the no-nonsense Welsh fantasist earned Ruth a BAFTA for best female performance in a comedy last month, where she was seen wearing her wedding ring.

However Ruth omitted David from her acceptance speech after collecting her BAFTA in May, in which she paid a huge tribute to the cast and crew of Gavin & Stacey, namely her writing partner James whom she said: ‘I love you James, I love writing with you and long may it continue.’ 

Ruth and David first met while filming a pilot episode of a BBC comedy, and the actress once admitted he was in a relationship at the time. 

Getting together then sparked his divorce from the mother of his three children, who are all now in their 30s.

She said: ‘Affairs cause a lot of pain, they’re not something one aspires to do. You don’t aspire to cause pain to people in their life.’

They married in 1999 and went onto work with each other again, co-creating her Sky comedy Stella, in which she plays the title character – a struggling single mother – which ran for 58 episodes from 2012.

In 2008, they co-founded production company Tidy Productions – named after Ruth’s Gavin & Stacey catchphrase – which made Stella, plus they also co-produced the comedy star’s Radio Wales show Sunday Brunch in the same year.

However, David and two business associates recently set up a new film production company called Toffee International with the TV executive giving a correspondence address – for the first time – in Inverkirkaig in the far remote north west Highlands of Scotland.

Ruth is not a part of this new company.

David owns a restaurant located near their holiday home in Lochinver, a pretty fishing village in the north-west coast of the Scottish Highlands (pictured) 

Mailonline revealed earlier this month that Ruth is frequently seen waiting tables and serving food and drink when she’s in the area, which she uses as an escape from her hectic work life 

Away from the television industry, David owns a restaurant located near their holiday home in Lochinver, a pretty fishing village in the north-west coast of the Scottish Highlands.

The eatery – called Peets – is one of just a handful of attractions in the region and sits on a sheltered bay on the edge of Loch Inver, offering spectacular views of the 2,389 feet high Mount Suilven.

Mailonline revealed earlier this month that Ruth is frequently seen waiting tables and serving food and drink when she’s in the area, which she uses as an escape from her hectic work life.

Georgia Riggins, 24, who works at Peet’s restaurant said: ‘Ruth has been known to do a couple of shifts in the restaurant when she’s up here and we’ve been told that she’s coming again in July. 

‘She’s not been coming as much recently but that’s because she’s probably busy with her work.

‘David comes up here more often. He’s a lovely man and great to work for. Everybody around here knows how famous Ruth is and when’s she’s working in the restaurant is happy to pose for selfies with the tourists. But the locals don’t bother her.’

Ruth is often seen walking around the village enjoying its breath-taking scenery, popping into its only convenience store or visiting a van parked by the village hall to buy fish and locally caught langoustines.

Their split comes after Ruth’s iconic character Nessa finally married on-off lover Smithy, played by co-writer James Corden, in the 2024 Christmas Special of Gavin & Stacey (pictured)

David McDonald, 51, who drives around the Highlands selling local seafood told MailOnline: ‘I supply fish to Peet’s, and Ruth has also come to my van to buy fish. I must admit that I’ve never watched Gavin and Stacey, but I know she’s very famous and can tell you what fish she likes.

‘It’s very quiet and beautiful around here and couldn’t be more different from Ruth’s celebrity life. She’s famous for her love of Wales but the Highlands are very dear to her too but not a lot of people know that.’

David purchased the restaurant in 2014, the year after they bought their holiday home close by for £240,000.

Their other home is a semi-detached mock Tudor semi overlooking leafy Roath Park in one of Cardiff’s most sought after suburbs, worth over £1million, which they’ve lived in for 24 years.