Zoe Ball’s Wedding Photo Sparks Ex-Husbands Praise

has revealed the story behind an iconic photo of herself wearing a cowboy hat and brandishing a bottle of Jack Daniels on the day of her 1999 wedding to Fatboy Slim.

The TV and radio star, 55, wed the superstar DJ, 62, in a wild four day wedding, with the photo of the giddy bride-to-be now hailed as representing the pinnacle of nineties ladette culture.

Speaking on her gardening and lifestyle podcast Dig It with her close pal and fellow ninties raver Jo Whiley, Zoe recalled how she had had no sleep the night before her big day at Babington House in Somerset. 

'I hadn't slept. I'd been trying to make a mixtape to play at the ceremony when people were walking in. Basically I'd stayed up all night,' she admitted.

'I might have had a couple of drinks and my brother came down and he was like, "What are you doing?"' 

'I was in the lounge with CDs everywhere like I was like, "I've only got to track four." and he was like, "I think we need to get you to bed so you could have a little nap before you get married." 

'I was walking out the door and my brother just stuck the hat on me, handed me the Jack Daniels and went, "Good luck, kid." And out I went. That was the beginning of what was an exciting four day weekend.'

Zoe's ex husband Norman, who split from the star in 2016, posted a sweet comment on the Dig It Instagram clip, quipping: '…and that’s why I married you…x'

Former children's television presenter Zoe was a figurehead of 'ladette culture' which defined the late 1990s, admitting that at times her partying was so wild she only has 'vague memories' of her time at the helm of the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show.

Her reputation as a party girl increased after her 1999 marriage to the DJ, when she often found herself among other female stars known for their booze-fuelled antics. 

She has credited her appearance in the 2005 series of Strictly for allowing her to reinvent herself as an adult presenter whilst in more recent years she has prioritised a quieter life with family, quitting her Radio 2 show in 2025. 

Zoe and Norman share two children, son Woody, 25, and daughter Nellie, 16, and Zoe has admitted her kids 'love' the wedding day picture.

'They're like, it really sums you up,' she said. 'And I'm like, "it doesn't sum up who I am now at all." But I suppose it kind of sums up who I was at that point.' 

She added though that 'the thing I'm really proud of is those jeans. I kept them because there are certain clothes that you keep because they're special.'

'And my friend said, "Keep some of your stuff for for Nell, you know, because she might want it one day or keep some of your stuff as memories." I was like, "I will never get back in those trousers." But I've kept them and I can get in them!'

In a previous episode of Dig It Zoe and Jo reflected on their wild years partying and working whilst parenting their young children, admitting that they have a more present relationship with their kids now.

Both have discussed how they have cut back on drinking in recent years, and in the latest episode of their podcast debated how that has affected their relationships with family. 

'I can have one drink, I'll really enjoy a second. I can never have more than that. I'm really happy that I managed to get to that place in my life because I used to have a very different relationship with  where I wouldn't stop at all,' Zoe explained.

'I think that is the thing that I love about me now, I don't love loads of things about me, but I am really happy that my kids get a healthy version of me who is there for them whenever they need me.'

She added: 'I'm quite boring. I go to bed quite early. I sleep a lot. I like my little life as it is but I am much more available to all the people who need me and to myself. And that's a good thing.'