Mark Labbett feared he would 'die a bachelor' before finding fame on The Chase and then marrying his second cousin Katie

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Mark Labbett feared he would 'die a bachelor' because women were not interested in him before he found fame on The Chase.
The 59-year-old TV personality was a single man 'for over 20 years' before he joined the ITV quiz show as The Beast in 2009, and then he went on to be in a several serious relationships.
This included his second cousin Katie Labbett, 32, who he met on Facebook in 2010, began to date in 2012 and then married in 2014.
They welcomed their seven-year-old son Lawrence in 2018, but Katie and Mark split in 2020.
Following The Beast's separation from Katie, Mark dated TV presenter Hayley Palmer, 44, in 2023.
However, in May 2024, he dumped Hayley days after their first dating anniversary in a 'three-minute' phone call.
Now, Mark is taking part in the E4 dating show Celebs Go Dating.
He hopes to find his perfect match, with the help of the programme's dating agents, Paul Carrick Brunson, 50, Anna Williamson, 44, and Dr. Tara Suwinyattichaiporn, 36.
Mark exclusively told BANG Showbiz at the Celebs Go Dating launch party event at The Broadcaster gastropub in White City, West London, on July 24: 'It's getting to the point now with the joy of social media, a photo of me with a woman suddenly it's a new date.
'With this girl, I said, 'Sorry about this, I did warn you if you put up that photo.'
'And I tend to think, 'Where was all this speculation 20, 25 years ago?'
'I was a single man for over 20 years. I genuinely thought at one point before The Chase came along, 'Am I going to die a bachelor?'
'Suddenly, I'm in a relationship, which is why this has been good because you listen to experts, so finding out advice from them.'
In 2020, Katie - who had been dating senior design engineer Scott Bate for 18 months at the time - and Mark split because their attempts at an open marriage failed.
The Beast also blamed other factors, including their 27-year age gap, the Covid-19 lockdown and his own mental health, for their eventual split.
In 2024, Hayley and Mark separated - with Hayley claiming at the time he dumped her because he 'didn't want to divorce his ex-wife', but Mark later told The Sun newspaper their separation was because he 'got old'.
However, Mark - who had a 15-year age gap with Hayley - insisted to BANG Showbiz he does not have a 'bad word' to say about Katie or Hayley.
Asked if he thinks it is now better to share a similar age with someone, as opposed to having a big age gap like he did with Katie and Hayley, Mark said: 'What I would say is age is really important to some people and completely unimportant to others.
'And, ultimately, I think it's down to the individual relationship.
'I've dated women who are older than me, and I've got no problems with it.'
Celebs Go Dating 2025 starts on Monday, August 11, at 9pm on E4.