Vernon Kay discussed a period of "change" in his family one month before he and Tess Daly announced their separation after 22 years of marriage, a re-emerging interview shows.
Separation Announcement
In May, the couple released a joint statement saying they had "made the decision to separate amicably," adding that there were "no other parties involved in this decision." The BBC favourites, who share daughters Phoebe, 21, and Amber, 17, said they would "remain great friends and, most importantly, fully committed to our roles as loving and supportive parents."
Kay's Interview on Family Change
Speaking to The Times one month before the announcement, Kay discussed watching his children grow up, now that his eldest daughter Phoebe was studying in New York. "Now that Phoebe is 21 and Amber is nearly 17, our relationship with them is changing," he told the publication. "We talk about encouraging them to leave the nest and be independent but we don't really want them to. You have to learn to enter their world and that world has pitfalls that just didn't exist for us."
Speaking about his father's own regret for not being present for Kay's childhood, the presenter explained: "Tess and I have both been fortunate to spend a lot of time with Phoebe and Amber, but the core lessons remain the same: you've got to go out and graft. That's something we've tried to instil in our girls. They're still working out what they want to do but we've told them, 'Your mum and I aren't going to give you everything.'"
Background and Allegations
While Daly and Kay publicly claimed that their split was amicable, sources alleged that the marriage had broken down because Daly remained angry about her husband's 2010 "sexting" scandal involving former Page 3 model Rhian Sugden. At the time, Kay admitted to sending explicit texts to around five women, going on to apologise to his two million listeners on Radio 1 for being "foolish and stupid."
The pair met at a BBC Christmas party while working as up-and-coming TV presenters for rival channels in 2001. Kay proposed on Christmas Day 2002 at Daly's parents home, and the pair married the following September near his hometown of Bolton, just 20 miles from where Daly grew up in Stockport. The exes own a five bedroom Buckinghamshire home worth an estimated £3 million, which they bought 22 years ago for £1.18 million.
