TV star Mark Labbett, who goes by the name of The Beast on ITV gameshow The Chase, previously had his marriage rocked by an affair as his then-wife, who is also his second cousin, started seeing someone else. The Chase, which will run on TV on Saturday afternoon, as it continues to celebrates its 15th anniversary, sees a team of four take on a Chaser in the hope of winning thousands of pounds.
Quiz legend Labbett was a mathematics and physical education teacher before finding fame as a Chaser. But many viewers don't realise that away from the show, Mark has faced his fair share of relationship ups and downs. Mark and Katie tried to continue their relationship after she dated someone else but it didn’t work and the pair ended up splitting.
They first met on Facebook back in 2010 and got together two years later before tying the knot 12 months after at Arundel Cathedral in West Sussex. Katie and Mark, who welcomed their son Lawrence a couple of years later, confirmed the news of their split in summer 2020, with Mark telling The Sun: "There was never any deceit on Katie’s part. But it’s got to the point now where I realise it is better for us to go our separate ways and remain friendly.”
Mark confirmed his split from wife Katie after nearly six years of marriage. The Beast’s wife Katie began dating Scott before she had first split from Mark, but the couple reconciled and Katie continued to date Scott.
But the couple then called it quits again in 2020 and said lockdown contributed to their troubles as well as Mark’s workload and worldwide travel. Mark also admitted Katie’s ongoing relationship with Scott also contributed to the end of their marriage.
Mark told the publication: “There was never any deceit on Katie’s part, but obviously our son has mentioned Scott’s name quite a few times. Each time he does it, Katie looks a bit sheepish.
“My only concern is that Scott’s good with him, which he appears to be. We’ve started speaking and are beginning to chat more and more."
He added: "We’ve spoken about some of the bigger things, and Katie knows what my red lines are, and I know hers. So this way, nobody is shocked or surprised.”
Katie previously said that she didn't know who Mark was. She admitted: "I had never heard of Mark, or watched The Chase, but my gran mentioned him so I was intrigued". Mark and Katie have both insisted they didn't know they were second cousins (Mark and Katie's dad are first cousins) when they tied the knot.
Mark previously said on Loose Women: "It wasn't something we were aware of at the time – it was one of those things that happened."
Despite the revelation, the pair stayed together and welcomed their now-four-year-old son Lawrence into the world. Around 18 months before the couple split in 2020, Mark and Katie continued in their marriage, after Mark's wife began a relationship with senior design engineer Scott.
Mark previously told The Sun: "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? We had a family. We couldn't just throw that away lightly. There were other considerations."
The couple blamed their 27-year age gap and Covid-19 lockdown restrictions for their marital woes. Speaking two years on from the split, Mark said at the time: "I’m single now. We are separated but we get on really well, we co-parent."
But Mark found love again with TV host Hayley Palmer, however the pair recently split. Last month, Mark decided to skip out on attending the National Television Awards following his recent split with Hayley. The couple first met at the same glitzy event two years ago, crossing paths backstage. In 2023, Hayley, 42, attended the event with Mark, with the pair making a joint appearance on the red carpet.
Hayley disclosed in May that they had parted ways just days after their one-year anniversary, leaving her utterly "heartbroken."
Hayley claimed that she was blindsided when Mark called time on their relationship back via an abrupt phone-call. Hayley shared that she decided to stay away as they hadn't seen each other since he ended things over the phone.
She said: "I was worried because we haven't seen each other since it ended. It was a complete cut and block. And I don't feel our paths would really cross other than that."
Adding to this, the GB News presenter said: "I felt like I had such happy memories there [The National Television Awards]. Two years ago, I met Mark there and if I'm honest he swept me off my feet and we fell in love. And the following year we attended as a couple."
Discussing the surprising split, she revealed that she required counselling to make sense of it all as it was completely unexpected.
"I have come such a long way in my healing journey. I did not want to get out of my positive mindset, I feel it would have taken me back to a dark place which I don't ever want to go back to," she went on.
A week prior to their split, the couple appeared on the ITV show discussing their one-year anniversary celebration and their future plans together.
Following Hayley's split from Mark, there were reports that the latter blamed their 16-year age gap for the breakup and that his Rotherham location versus Hayley’s London base caused tension.
