Inside The Chase star Mark Labbett’s chaotic romances from marrying his cousin to toxic love triangle with bitter ex
THE Chase’s Mark Labbett joins Celebs Go Dating after a string of wild romances, from marrying his own cousin to getting tangled in a messy love triangle with his bitter ex.
The 6ft 7 quiz king, known as “The Beast”, has had a rocky road to love – and now he’s turning to the experts in a bid to finally crack the dating game.
Mark, 59, is hoping to leave his heartbreak behind after a string of headline-grabbing relationships that left fans stunned.
But where did it go wrong?
Mark & Hayley
Mark ended his relationship with journalist Hayley Palmer, just weeks after they celebrated their one-year anniversary with a Beefeater pub meal and walk on the beach.
Mark revealed that the split was down to him and his age – saying “It’s me, I got old”.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Mark opened up about the reason for the split, saying: “She’s [Hayley’s] a lovely lady and I was very lucky to date her for a year, and as I said… it’s me, I got old.”
Mark, who has been on The Chase for 15 years, first wooed Hayley with his Toby Carvery Gold Card.
Although Mark is enjoying his bachelor life, he is not short of offers – saying his DMs have been flooded with messages from single women.
He also confirmed that he won’t be signing up to any celebrity dating apps like Raya, saying: “Definitely not a dating app! What’s the old phrase… when you’re in a dessert, you’re desperate for water.
“I’m in a situation where we went out on Saturday night and I got a load of people come over to talk to me on various things and you don’t feel any particular needs, it’s just nice to chat to people.
“Sometimes you’ve got to be realistic and go pick appropriately or whatever.
“While every man is looking for pretty girls, I’m looking for smart girls, call me strange.”
Meanwhile, Hayley described their breakup as “traumatic” after he callously ended things during a brutal three-minute phone call.
She said: “It was a horrible breakup, and he was truly beastly. But now, I’m all about becoming the best version of myself.
“I’m quite a strong person, but it completely crushed me. My world came crumbling down.
“The whole thing was traumatic, and it’s been a journey to heal from it.
Hayley claimed he ended their year-long romance because he didn’t want to divorce his ex, Katie.
Mark & Katie
Mark and Katie, who are also second cousins, were together for seven years, but split when their attempts at an open marriage failed.
They first started speaking on Facebook in 2010, unaware of their familial connection.
Katie’s dad and Mark’s father are first cousins, making them second cousins.
Mark said of the unusual connection: “It wasn’t something we were aware of at the time – it was one of those things that happened.”
Mark married nurse Katie at Arundel Castle in West Sussex in October 2014.
The Sun revealed how Katie had been cheating with a local man 25 years Mark’s junior.
We also revealed how she had holidayed with a 28-year-old hunk called Scott Bate behind her famous husband’s back.
A source explained that Katie has been dating him for well over a year, saying: “Scott and Katie have been seeing each other since 2017. He introduced her to friends in December that year.
“It took a while for people to realise who she was and that she was married. Then one of Scott’s friends confronted her and she got angry about it.”
Clues to Katie’s apparent double life appeared on the Facebook page of metals firm worker Scott, where his profile picture was Katie with her arm around his neck.
Mark admitted that Covid lockdown had a detrimental effect on his mental health, and amplified the pair’s 27-year age gap.
Even though they are broken up, they are yet to officially get divorced, despite both have gone on to other relationships.
Both Mark, 58, and Katie, 31, look unrecognisable from their time being married, having both lost weight and switching up their looks.
They share custody for their seven-year-old Lawrence and often share snaps of family outings to social media.
Mark revealed that he would only ever consider ending his marriage when he met the right person.
He told The Sun: “It will happen if either Katie or I get with someone serious, then it might obviously be a different matter.”
Mark & Emma
Back in February this year, Mark was spotted on lunch date with presenter Emma Louise Jones – nine months after bitter split with his ex Hayley.
Emma is known for her work with Sky Sports and Channel 5 News. She often covers football and is thought to be single.
Taking to his Instagram Story, the pair mouthed along to an audio clip of Mark boasting about his famous Toby Carvery Gold Card.
Will Mark hit it off on his dates the experts match him with on Celebs Go Dating?
Mark will be joining Presenter & TV Personality Christine McGuinness, Atomic Kitten legend Kerry Katona, Too Hot To Handle’s Louis Russell, Love Island All Stars’ Olivia Hawkins, and S Club 7 star Jon Lee who are also looking to find love.
Life coach and matchmaking pro Paul C. Brunson and accredited therapist and relationship guru Anna Williamson will be retuning for the 14th series, along with receptionist Tom Read Wilson.
And of course, Celebs Go Dating would be complete without Rob Beckett – with his razor-sharp commentary and iconic one-liners.
Would like to go on a date with one of the celebs? Head to celebsgodatingcasting.com.