After completing this year’s series, TV host Tess Daly waved goodbye to the hit BBC show. He is at a crucial crossroads now that he has spent more than 20 years on the show.
Fresh from leaving her job as co-host of Strictly Come Dancing, Tess Daly is at a major crossroads – not just professionally but also personally, with her marriage now undergoing what’s been described as a “reset”.
After more than two decades as one of the BBC’s highest-profile TV hosts, quitting Strictly marks a sudden shift in pace for the 56-year-old star – and no one is more aware of the challenges that lay ahead for Tess than her husband of 22 years, BBC Radio 2 presenter Vernon Kay.
According to a source, “She’s done so well,” according to Vernon, who keeps telling Tess, “she’s had the most amazing career on one of the top shows, on one of the top TV channels.” She doesn’t want to feel like she’s retired, but he keeps reminding her of that. She doesn’t want to look like she’s hung up her boots. Life changes, but she was tearful and sad about leaving Strictly.
READ MORE: Kate Middleton’s go-to lip-perfecting gloss hits post-Christmas sale with 20% off
With Tess now residing more at home, their family life with Vernon’s daughters, Phoebe, 21, and Amber, 16, is also likely to be very different.
Our source claims that “it’s going to be a real reset for them.” There will be a lot of adjustment for her because Vernon has a very busy schedule right now and Tess will have more time to work. It’s going to be a case of getting used to that change because it’s a significant shift in family life.
With Vernon, 51, travelling from the family home in Buckinghamshire to host his Radio 2 show in London, as well as regularly co-hosting The One Show on weeknights, the couple are used to being apart due to their work commitments.
Tess is said to be adamant that she will never get around Vernon, who she first met in 2001 as a young TV presenter.
The couple have been married for over 20 years, but their relationship hit a bump in the road in 2010 when Vernon became involved in a sexting scandal with former glamour model Rhian Sugden.
Six years later, when it became known that Vernon and Rhian, both 39, had once again been in contact, Tess experienced heartache. However, Vernon insisted that their communication had never had any inappropriate intent and that he was only “trying to find answers to questions I’ve had since 2010”.
According to our source, Tess is now determined to stand up for herself and the former All Star Family Fortunes host.
“She’s insisting they have date nights and make time for each other,” reveals our source. “They have their holidays, which they always enjoy, where they have that special time for each other – it helps them remember why they’re together and to not let the showbiz world take them apart or in different directions.
Tess is acutely aware of that and the potential pitfalls. She has previously been hurt, so she can be a lioness around her family and won’t let anything stand in her way.
Despite the ups and downs of the past, our source says Tess is delighted that Vernon – who finished third on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2020 – is enjoying a successful run on both TV and radio. “She is very happy for Vern,” says the source. “Tess has always known he was a huge talent, but she likes working too. She’s very ambitious.”
In October, Tess and her Strictly co-host Claudia Winkleman stunned fans by announcing that they’d both be stepping down at the end of the recent series.
“We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time,” the pair wrote in a joint statement on Instagram. “We will cry when we say the last ‘keep dancing’, but we will continue to say it to each other.”
Tess has hosted Strictly since the series began in 2004, initially alongside showbiz legend Sir Bruce Forsyth, then opposite Claudia after Bruce quit the show in 2014.
And Tess had to make a difficult decision despite both actors saying they had always intended to leave at the same time. Tess has had the most amazing career, but she’s really sad to be leaving Strictly, “says our source. She is only known through the television, and things will be completely different now. She hopes that there will be additional career opportunities in the future.
After a busy 2025, Tess’ list of priorities for the year ahead is taking a family vacation, which will give her and Vernon some much-needed downtime. According to our source, who claims Mallorca is their favorite destination, they like to travel [with the girls]. But they also enjoy dating each other for love.
Our source predicts that Tess may return to her roots in the future, anticipating what career options might lay her way. She was a great model, so I believe she will look into working with beauty companies and fashion and return to what she did when she was a model, the source says.
“Let’s see, there aren’t any offers on the table right now,” he said. In the interim, I believe Tess will make the most of her family’s time. She’ll also check for other interests before pressing the reset button. But initially, it will be difficult for her to adjust.
Source: Mirror
Leave a Reply