A New Chapter for Tess Daly and Vernon Kay
Tess Daly and Vernon Kay were in high spirits this weekend during their first joint outing since revealing their separation. The former Strictly Come Dancing host, 57, and BBC Radio 2 presenter, 52, have been married for over two decades and share two daughters, Phoebe, 21, and Amber, 16. For years, they’ve been one of the nation’s golden couples, often seen together on red carpets and supporting each other’s career endeavours. From Vernon sitting proudly in the audience of Tess’s final Strictly show to them co-hosting The One Show in February this year, their partnership has always been a source of admiration.
So when they released a statement last week to announce their divorce, it came as a shock to many. Despite the unexpected news, Tess and Vernon seem determined to maintain a united front. Photos captured them at Pub in the Park on Saturday afternoon at Higginson Park in Marlow, where they appeared relaxed and happy.
The food and music festival featured live cooking demos and plenty of snacking opportunities on Michelin-star dishes, while performances came from Craig David, McFly, Jools Holland, Gabrielle, and more. New exes Tess and Vernon are said to have looked ‘super happy and friendly’, with the Family Fortunes star on beers while Tess drank ‘English sparkling wine from Chapel Down’.
An onlooker told the Daily Mail: ‘They seemed super relaxed, chatty, and happy together. They were seen strolling about, eating food from George & The Dragon and Tommy’s Pie Shop. Both even stopped to pose with fans and then went to have a boogie to Craig David. Tess let her hair down and was seen dancing away. Vernon doing typical dad moves!’
Indeed, they were more than happy to give their time to fans, taking selfies in the tents and posing alongside actor Will Mellor backstage. Vernon was even wearing his wedding ring, following claims that he and Tess decided to ‘keep it classy’ by raising a glass of champagne for a toast at their family mansion when dropping their split bombshell.
It’s believed they are still living together at their sprawling Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, property while planning out the next steps. Some sources say there has been ‘no big fallout’ and both parties ‘only want the best for each other’ after ‘gradually growing apart’. However, other friends close to Tess and Vernon paint a different picture.
‘Tess isn’t as chilled about the split as is being put out there,’ revealed one insider familiar with the couple. ‘She has gone along with the announcement and has publicly remained silent, but in fact she isn’t very happy at all with Vernon.’ It’s claimed that the ghost of Vernon’s past infidelity still looms, with glamour model Rhian Sugden, whom he admitted to messaging for months behind his wife’s back, remaining ‘a constant in their marriage’.
‘Tess tried so hard to get over it at the time. It took everything out of her to move on and forget about Rhian.’ This follows his own dad’s remarks about it being ‘100% rubbish’ that his son is looking for love again already, shutting down the prospect that anyone else was ‘involved’ in the split.
In 2010, headlines erupted after Vernon was exposed for sending explicit messages to ‘four or five women’, one being Rhian, whom he’d met at a nightclub in Bolton, for four months. Tess Daly and Vernon Kay’s split statement in full:
‘After much consideration, and with a deep sense of care and respect for one another, we have made the decision to separate amicably. This has not been an easy choice, but it comes from a place of mutual understanding and a shared desire for what is best for both of us. We remain great friends and most importantly, fully committed to our roles as loving and supportive parents, which will always be our priority. There are no other parties involved in this decision. We kindly ask for privacy during this time as we navigate this transition together. We will not be making any further public comments.’
At the time, his representatives insisted his relationship with Rhian was not physical, but he still grovelled live on the Radio 1 show he hosted at the time. Revealing that his wife was ‘extremely upset’, Vernon apologised, declaring himself an ‘idiot’ and vowing to ‘never do it again’.
He added: ‘In some ways, I’m glad this story has come out. It feels like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.’ In the aftermath, Tess stuck by him, telling The One Show a month later that they had ‘two beautiful kids’, and while it was a hard thing to deal with publicly, they’d already had ’10 great years together’. In 2017, Tess referenced the scandal again and said their marriage was always ‘a work in progress’.
Meanwhile, Rhian, who is now aged 39 and married with a son to former Coronation Street actor Oliver Mellor, made no secret of how the ordeal ‘ruined’ her life. ‘I felt like I was going up and up with my career, and then that came along. I wish I’d never met him,’ she expressed on a Channel 4 documentary, admitting it ‘made [her] feel sick’ to know Vernon ‘just got to carry on’.
And while Vernon told his I’m A Celebrity campmates in 2020 that the scandal was ‘in the past’ and that he and Tess had ‘moved on’, as latest whispers suggest, perhaps it wasn’t ‘forgotten about’ entirely after all.
