
Last year, The Chase star Mark ‘The Beast’ Labbett made headlines when he split from his wife, Katie Labbett, who also happens to be his cousin.
The couple had previously split in May 2019 after Katie had an ongoing affair.
"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, 55, told The Sun in August last year.
According to the publication, Katie, 28, had been dating senior design engineer Scott Bates for 18 months.
"When Katie first came clean to me about her boyfriend, I’d had an inkling," said Mark.
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"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."
However, lockdown plus the couple's large age gap put a strain on their relationship and the pair decided to end their open marriage.
"COVID provided the perfect storm. My mental health suffered and the differences in our ages became magnified."
"With Katie seeing Scott after lockdown, it’s got to the point where I realised it’s better for us to go our separate ways and remain friendly, without the stress factor of living together."
The couple also share a three-year-old son, whose name and identity has not been publicly disclosed.