The Chase star Mark Labbett is dating TV presenter Hayley Palmer

The Chase star Mark Labbett is reportedly dating TV presenter Hayley Palmer after splitting from his wife Katie.

Sources claim that the TV star, 57, best known for his alter-ego The Beast, wooed the GB News presenter on a string of dates after being ‘friends for some time.’

It’s thought that the pair went public with their romance this week by enjoying a date on the beach in Portsmouth. 

It comes after Mark split from his wife Katie in 2020 following seven years of marriage, blaming lockdown, mental health and their vast age difference as the causes for the end of their relationship. 

A source told The Sun: ‘They have been friends for some time and recently things developed into something more.

New romance! The Chase star Mark Labbett is reportedly dating TV presenter Hayley Palmer after splitting from his wife Katie

‘Mark and Hayley have kept things low key but this week they headed out on a day-date.

‘The beach was busy and there were lots of people around but they both felt comfortable with people seeing them as a couple, not just friends.’

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Mark Labbett and Hayley Palmer for comment. 

Hayley, who regularly appears on GB News, hosts shows including At Home With Hayley and Saturday Night With Hayley Palmer, and she met Mark through her television work.

In 2020, Mark revealed he and Katie had split after marrying in 2014, with the couple parents to a six-year-old son.

In a candid interview at the time, Mark admitted ‘it’s better for us to go our separate ways,’ after the pair’s attempts to have an open marriage failed.

He told 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.’

While Katie added: ‘I just want everyone to know what’s what and that we are all happy.’

Over: It comes after Mark split from his wife Katie in 2020 following seven years of marriage (pictured in 2018)

Before: In January last year Mark revealed he had shed 10 stone (pictured before the weight loss in 2018)

It’s been revealed that Katie, who works as a nurse, has been seeing her senior design engineer lover Scott Bate, 30, for 18 months. 

Mark admitted that he had a feeling that she was seeing Scott, but decided to approach things sensibly for the sake of their son.

But when lockdown came, things between him and Katie became strained and she started seeing Scott, resulting in Mark making the decision to end their marriage for good.

He explained: ‘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?’

He added that because they had a ‘family’ he simply could just ‘throw that away lightly’ as they had other ‘considerations’.

Mark and Katie tied the knot at Arundel Castle, West Sussex, in October 2014. 

In September last year, Mark confirmed he was still with his wife, despite her admission four months earlier that she had cheated on him with a younger man. 

Slim Jim: Mark was forced to deny having weight loss surgery after his incredible 10 stone weight loss (right, pictured in 2019)

During an appearance on Loose Women, the TV personality was asked about the status of his marriage, where he admitted they have been ‘through a rough patch.’ 

‘Like a lot of relationships, you go through a rough patch. We’re working our way through it,’ Mark told the Loose Women. 

Back in May 2019, Mark’s wife Katie confirmed the couple had separated, just weeks after the pair profusely denied claims of trouble in paradise with their age gap love.

In a twist in their love story, Mark and Katie are cousins – something they realised about each other three years after they wed in 2014. 

The Chase star Mark Labbett ‘is dating TV presenter Hayley Palmer’
Source: Viral Buzz Philippines