The Chase star Mark Labbett's love life and sad reason behind split from famous girlfriend

Mark Labbett has become a regular fixture on our TV screens thanks to his role on ITV's hit game show, The Chase. The professional quizzer, who's perhaps best known to viewers as his alter-ego The Beast, has been very candid about his love life in recent years.

Find out about his recent split from his TV presenter girlfriend as well as the star's divorce from his ex-wife below…

Mark's split from famous girlfriend

Until very recently, Mark was linked to TV presenter Hayley Palmer, who regularly hosts the entertainment segment on GB News, as well as her own SkyTV chat show, Saturday Night With Hayley Palmer.

The couple split just weeks after celebrating their one-year anniversary in May.

Opening up about the breakup, Mark put it down to his age. "She's [Hayley's] a lovely lady and I was very lucky to date her for a year, and as I said...it's me, I got old," he told The Sun in November.

"There's been no one since Hayley, I'm not saying there won't be another one. But I'm certainly not looking."

He went on to say that he enjoys life as a single man. "I joke I am a shed man - a guy of a certain age that's quite content being in or out of a relationship - but loves to be spending time on their own," explained the 59-year-old.

"It's primal, I think it goes all the way back to the hunter-gatherers where the man would go off a lot of time on their own.

"To be fair it's not just men, there are people who actually like their own company," he continued, adding: "I've got a friendship group around here where we go out but at the same time, I've really loved this summer, just being quietly here etc."

Hayley confirmed the split on social media, writing: "It is with regret I announce that myself and Mark have gone our separate ways. We had the best year together and I truly wish him all the best for the future."

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Mark's ex-wife and second cousin, Katie

Before his romance with Hayley, Mark was married to his second cousin Katie from 2014 to 2020. The nurse, who is 27 years Mark's junior, first met the TV star via Facebook in 2010.

Two years later in 2012, Mark invited Katie to watch a celebrity special of The Chase and the pair hit it off. The following October, Mark popped the question and they tied the knot at Arundel Cathedral in West Sussex in 2014.

It wasn't until later that Mark and Katie discovered that their fathers were cousins. "It wasn't something we were aware of at the time - it was one of those things that happened," the quizzer said during an appearance on Loose Women in 2017.

The pair, who welcomed their son Lawrence in 2018, announced their split in 2020. At the time, Katie had been dating a senior design engineer for 18 months.

The former couple blamed their age gap and life during the coronavirus lockdown for the breakdown of their relationship. "When Katie first came clean to me about her boyfriend, I'd had an inkling. But right from the start, my attitude was quite pragmatic — this was spilt milk, what could we do about the situation to make it OK?" Mark told The Sun.

"We had a family. We couldn't just throw that away lightly. There were other considerations. But Covid provided the perfect storm. My mental health suffered and the differences in our ages became magnified.

"With Katie seeing Scott after lockdown, it's got to the point where I realise it's better for us to go our separate ways and remain friendly, without the stress factor of living together," he continued.

Thankfully, their relationship ended on good terms and the pair continue to co-parent their little boy together. Earlier this month, Mark shared a snap of the former couple on his Instagram Story alongside the caption: "Co-parenting in London part one #wbtourlondon. Little Monster loved the Forbidden Forest."