Tess Daly and Vernon Kay SPLIT after 23 years of marriage

Despite a ‘sexting’ misdemeanour revealed in 2010, the television presenting duo’s marriage has been one of the longest in showbusiness.

But last night in a sensational statement, golden couple Tess, 57, and Vernon, 52, revealed that they have split, almost 23 years after they wed.

In a joint announcement, the former Strictly Come Dancing host and Radio DJ said they had reached a mutual agreement to go their separate ways, though friends of the couple said they were both still at their marital home in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, yesterday.

The couple wrote: ‘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 of 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.

‘We will not be making any further public comments.’

Tess and Vernon – thought to be worth around £10million – were last seen publicly together in February of this year when they hosted an episode of The One Show. They are also food ambassadors for Marks and Spencer.

Friends of the two, who met while presenting Top Of The Pops@Play together in 2001, were stunned to learn of the news.

One said: ‘When Vernon told me, I was stunned, I didn’t see it coming, nobody did. This is going to take some getting used to.’ 

But while it may have come as a surprise to outsiders, sources close to Tess and Vernon say they have spent a ‘significant’ amount of time coming to the decision. Their two daughters, Phoebe, 21, and Amber, 16, were ‘completely involved’ in the conversations.

‘Tess and Vernon are actually really, really happy now,’ says a friend. ‘They’re still living together for now though that will of course change in the near future. The girls were very much part of the decision. They had grown apart, they are different to when they first met. They acknowledged that and decided life would be better if they were to split. They are both in their 50s, they have so much time left and they have decided they would be happier not being together so that’s what they’ve done. It is all very, very amicable.

‘They have lived through so much together, they have had so many happy times.

‘They have had more than two decades of laughs and are extremely proud of their girls but they know splitting is for the best.’ 

Sources say there is no third party involved and it is understood that divorce lawyers are yet to be instructed but that the plan is to do so down the line.

The couple began dating back in the early 2000s when Tess hosted children’s show SMTV and Vernon was a model trying to make it as a television presenter.

They were widely regarded as a bubbly, carefree pairing – when they married at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Horwich, near Bolton where Vernon grew up, they had a VW camper van as a wedding car.

They have been regarded as one of the strongest marriages in showbusiness, despite Vernon being caught ‘sexting’ Page 3 model Rhian Sugden in 2010.