Cat Deeley’s relationship with husband Patrick Kielty began as friendship for many years

TV presenter and actress Cat Deeley, 46, recently shared some updates on social media from her holiday in Costa Rica. The West Bromwich-born former fashion model looked stunning in a gorgeous string leopard print bikini while vacationing with friends.

Before celebrating her friend’s birthday in paradise, Cat shared some pictures with her sons, Milo, seven, and James, four, whom she shares with husband Patrick Kielty.

She is best known for hosting talent competition shows Fame Academy, Stars in Their Eyes and So You Think You Can Dance. She also spent more than a decade in the US before moving back to the UK in 2020.

Cat Deeley’s early life

The West Brom-born model turned presenter grew up in Sutton Coldfield and Great Barr. She attended Grove Vale Junior School and Dartmouth High School in Great Barr before joining Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School in Sutton Coldfield.

She joined a BBC competition for The Clothes Show at the age of 14 and reached the national finals. She went on to join modeling agency Storm but left modelling in 1997.

She became a presenter soon after having joined MTV chart show, Hitlist UK. She was also a co-host with Ant & Dec on Saturday morning children’s programme SM:TV Live and has been working nonstop since. From TV presenting to being a leading lady on a TV show in the US - she’s done it all.

Her relationship history

She was married to public relations executive Mark Whelan for five years before divorcing in 2006. After that she was linked to American actor Michael McMillian - who starred in the hit show True Blood - but they broke up after a few months together, according to RTE.

She had spoken about wanting to settle down and starting a family before her friendship with Patrick Kielty turned into a romantic one. She had said: “I’d love to tie the knot. My mum and dad have been married for over 30 years and they’ve had a great relationship. But that success is hard to emulate. When you’ve seen something work so brilliantly, you almost don’t want to settle for it not being fantastic.”

Cat Deeley and Patrick Kielty’s strong relationship

Deeley and Kielty have been married since 2012. They had a small wedding in Rome with just friends and family present and they honeymooned in the romantic city of Venice.

The mother-of-two previously opened up about the moment that made her see Patrick in a new light. They had been friends since they presented Fame Academy in 2002 and it took them a decade to start dating each other.

The Irish comedian surprised her when he flew to LA for her birthday. He also picked up the bill for her and her friends. Closer magazine reported her saying: “That’s quite possibly the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me. And he was just sitting there hanging out with 12 of my friends, making everybody laugh. It was romantic, noble, kind of amazing and pretty hard not to fall in love with him.”

While she was deeply in love, wedding planning wasn’t her strong suit. She said: “Patrick went and tried the food and did all that, I never even saw the place where I got married before I got married, that’s how uninvolved I was.”

Even during their marriage, she spent many years in LA but they had a home in London as well. The couple welcomed their first child together in 2015 and their second son three years later, according to Hello! magazine.

The Irish comedian has spoken about how he thinks Cat is out of his league. He reportedly said: “The key to life is to find someone out of your league and convince them they aren’t.”