Cat Deeley 'anxious' over This Morning return after being blamed in Patrick Kielty split
The TV presenter is reportedly feeling anxious about her return to This Morning as she faces backlash and blame over her split from Patrick Kielty
Cat Deeley is preparing for her return to ITV's This Morning after the summer break, but behind the scenes, she's reportedly feeling unsettled as she quietly navigates the emotional fallout from her marriage ending.
The 48-year-old presenter announced in July that she and husband Patrick Kielty had separated after 13 years together. The former couple share two young sons, Milo, eight, and James, six, and while they have asked for privacy, speculation around the reasons for their split has continued to swirl.
The Mirror reports that according to a source close to the star, Cat has no intention of bringing up her personal life on air when she reunites with co-host Ben Shephard. "Cat feels anxious ahead of her first day back after announcing the bombshell news of her split during her break," the source said.
"She has decided NOT to mention the breakdown of her marriage on screen and instead wants to keep the chatty dialogue between her and Ben upbeat and positive for viewers."
While Cat and Patrick released a united statement to confirm the separation stressing that "there is no other party involved", those close to her say she has been quietly hurt by the public reaction, particularly around a deeply personal family event.
"She has been hurt that people who don't even know her have judged her for not going to her mother-in-law's funeral in March," the source told The Sun.
"Even people from within Patrick's family and inner circle who don't know her well have criticised her for that and made out that it was the reason for the split when that couldn't be further from the truth."
The suggestion that she's to blame for the end of the marriage has reportedly been painful.
"Cat is generally a really positive person but it hurts her to have people piling the blame onto her when this is a painful situation for them both," the insider added.
Despite the pressure, both Cat and Patrick have made it clear that their focus remains on co-parenting their children.
Their joint statement read: "We have taken the decision to end our marriage and are now separated. There is no other party involved. We will continue to be united as loving parents to our children and would therefore kindly ask for our family privacy to be respected. There will be no further comment."
Cat is expected to keep things light when she returns to her presenting role on ITV's This Morning and is reportedly hoping that her personal life and marriage split will not be brought up upon her return to TV screens.
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