Cat Deeley’s First Marriage and Career’s Impact on Relationships Amid Split from Patrick Kielty

As news of Cat Deeley’s split from Patrick Kielty has emerged, many fans will be unaware that Cat has actually been married before.

The This Morning presenter, 48, was previously married to PR executive Mark Whelan for five years before they divorced in 2006.

While she met second husband Patrick, 54, in the early 2000s while working on Fame Academy, there was no romance between them as Cat was a married woman at the time, with the Irish host maintaining ‘nothing went on’ between them. 

Little is known about Cat’s romance with Mark, who she began dating in 2000 before they became engaged after just five months.

They tied the knot in January 2001, but five years later they separated and divorced in February 2006.

However, in an interview with The Times back in 2010, Cat suggested that she chose work over love, as she noted that ‘work was the most important thing to me.’

The star moved to LA in 2006 for a fresh start following her split from Mark before getting her big Stateside break as the host of So You Think You Can Dance.

When asked if their break-up was due to her commitment to her career, Cat noted that it did indeed play a part, but there were also other factors that led to the split. 

She added: ‘I think that actually was something that should have happened a while before. I don’t think one thing was necessarily the catalyst for the other, but there were definitely times when I’d put work first, yeah.’ 

Meanwhile, OK magazine later reported that Cat scathingly added that the relationship was ‘never a huge romance, to be honest – there was no sweeping violin music.’

Cat added to The Times that she was ‘sure’ that her focus on her career affected her relationships, but noted that she’d always been told that she should go out and earn her own cash so one can ‘have your own life’.

She remarked: ‘Then when you fall in love with someone, you fall in love with them. You don’t have to stay with someone because you’ve become accustomed to a certain lifestyle. And not just financially, you need to have a successful career because you have to feel fulfilled as a person.’

Elsewhere, in a chat with The Big Issue in 2020, she briefly touched on her failed relationship and her desire to have ‘fun’ as she excitedly spoke of her big move to America.

She said: ‘I never made a great proclamation; “I’m going to crack America”. A relationship had just ended and I just fancied a fun adventure. It did feel crazy at times. 

After moving to the states, Cat was single for two years before she began dating Twilight actor Jack Huston – the nephew of actress Anjelica Huston. 

The couple dated for two years before splitting due to ‘work commitments’.

Cat then went on to date True Blood star Michael McMillian for around four months in 2011. 

The TV star later told Red Magazine that a relationship with an unnamed man left her feeling a ‘shell’ of her former self. 

She explained: ‘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.’

It was certainly worth the wait for Cat as she later got together with Patrick in 2012, having endured a decade-long friendship throughout her first marriage and other relationships.

However, on Tuesday, the pair shocked fans as they announced their split after 12 years of marriage.

In a joint statement, the pair confirmed: ‘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.’

Cat notably did not attend Patrick’s mother Mary’s funeral back in March.

It was reported that she stayed home in order to support their two young children, Milo, nine, and James, seven, who were suffering the loss of their grandmother.

Cat and Patrick first met in 2002 while they hosted BBC talent show Fame Academy, however sparks didn’t fly between the couple until 10 years later. 

After being friends for years, their friendship turned to romance thanks to his major gesture when he flew all the way from Belfast to Los Angeles for brunch with Cat. 

They married in a secret, intimate ceremony in Rome in 2012 with their close family and friends present.

A wedding photo showed the pair looking blissfully happy as they enjoy a celebratory drink at their wedding reception. 

The couple lived in California for over 14 years as she presented So You Think You Can Dance but they put their Beverly Hills mansion on the market for $4.9 million (£3.8 million). 

They moved back to North London in 2020 after buying a £4.9 million property in Hampstead.

The move came prior to Cat securing her job at This Morning amid fears of gun violence following an incident in which Patrick had to hide from a gunman in a Los Angeles mall.