Match of the Day stars Mark Chapman and Kelly Cates are dating, having overcome a series of heartaches and obstacles to get their romance off the ground. After crossing paths through their work on the BBC One sports show, their chemistry is said to be undeniable.
Romance after loss
Before striking up a relationship with Kelly, Chappers was dating Dubai-based estate agent Clere Collier - his first romance since the tragic loss of his beloved wife. The 52-year-old was married to Sara Chapman for 19 years. They wed in 2001 and had three children together before she sadly died from cancer in 2020. Chappers has never publicly spoken about the loss but colleagues including Dan Walker and Simon Thomas have shared how he was holding his family together.
In 2024, fans were heartened to hear that the BBC star was in love again after he was spotted on romantic walks with a mystery woman. Clere was happy to share their romance as she paid tribute to her "one love" Chappers on his 51st birthday. She penned on Instagram: "Happy birthday to this one. My one love. So proud of all you do, the biggest heart, the kindest soul, the leader of our pack and not to mention devilishly handsome. I love you, happy 51."
Split and accusations
The pair were even spotted house hunting together. But after two years, the relationship is said to have fallen apart when Clere noticed Chappers was becoming close with BBC co-worker Kelly. Chappers and Clere then parted ways in April after she confronted him about a possible romance.
"Mark admitted the relationship but insisted there was no overlap between the two women and that he hadn’t cheated on her. He told her that he had been a single man when he started spending time with Kelly," a source told The Sun. An associate of the former couple said: "Mark split with Clere out of the blue, without much explanation. They had been making plans for the future and their relationship had been going strong. They stayed in touch after the split, but Clere soon realised that Mark and Kelly were close and she accused Mark of dating Kelly."
They added: "He told her that he had been a single man when he started spending time with Kelly. Of course, it left a bad taste in Clere’s mouth, and she didn’t believe him."
Kelly's journey
The relationship is the first in a few years for Kelly. Following the end of her 14-year marriage, she spoke openly about returning to the dating scene in her mid-40s. On Gabby Logan's The Mid Point podcast, she admitted to feeling "nervous" about single life and said she had a strong dislike for dating apps. Kelly said her own confidence had also taken a knocking. "I don’t have a picture in my head of why a middle-aged, slightly overweight, mother-of-two could possibly be attractive," she said.
Kelly, who is the daughter of football legend Kenny Dalglish, was previously married to television producer Tom Cates. The pair married in 2007 and separated in 2021, during which they had two children. Chappers and Cates started working together last year, when he joined Match of the Day. In July of this year, the two also appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox.
Speaking about working with Chappers and their co-star Gabby Logan, Cates previously said: "Being on a team with them is genuinely really exciting. I feel like I’m in a great little group." She also praised both her new co-presenters when they joined Match of the Day, replacing Gary Lineker. She said that it was a "really lovely group to be in", adding to the White Wine Question Time podcast: "People have this perception that it is a massive ego-filled world, and it is at times. You need a certain sort of ego to feel like you can do the job because you need a certain amount of confidence. But you don’t want to be in a position where we’re all trying to scramble over each other. The fact we’re all the same age, we’re at the same stage of our careers, we’ve all got other things outside of Match of the Day that we are all passionate about and really invested in, it means none of us are treading on each other and preying on each other’s insecurities."
The Mirror went to representatives for Mark Chapman and Kelly Cates for comment.
