Mark Labbett from ITV's The Chase has opened up about his split from his wife Katie, who also happens to be his cousin.
Labbett, also known as The Beast on the popular tea-time quiz show, split from his wife in 2020, he told The Sun. However while the 59-year-old and wife, 29, have split, he also admitted to being "too busy for a relationship."
"I’m single now. We are separated but we get on really well, we co-parent," he explained. "I promised to look after her and I promised to look after my kid."
The couple - who are also second-cousins - met in 2010 when Katie insisted she "had never heard of Mark, or watched The Chase." They wed in 2013 and share a five-year-old son.
The two tried an open relationship for a while after Katie revealed that she had been harbouring a secret affair with design engineer Scott Bate.
“When Katie first came clean to me about her boyfriend, I’d had an inkling,” he said. “But right from the start, my attitude was quite pragmatic - this was spilled 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 TV smart-guy also spoke on female attention, particularly from younger female fans.
[caption id="attachment_335998" align="alignnone" width="2048"] Via Getty[/caption]
“I can safely say on any given gig I get my a**e felt up to four times," he explained. "Every gig I get sexually assaulted."
He continued: “The worst one, I was wearing jeans and the woman grabbed my meat and two veg through them.
“If I’d have done that to her I’d be in the cells.
“I felt violated."
Via Getty[/caption]
“I can safely say on any given gig I get my a**e felt up to four times," he explained. "Every gig I get sexually assaulted."
He continued: “The worst one, I was wearing jeans and the woman grabbed my meat and two veg through them.
“If I’d have done that to her I’d be in the cells.
“I felt violated."
