Chase star Mark Labbett has split from his girlfriend, TV presenter Hayley Palmer, after a year together.
Quizzer Mark, 58, and Sky Entertainment reporter Hayley, 42, celebrated their first anniversary on social media a week ago, but he has now claimed there is too much age difference between the couple.
Confirming the news of their breakup on her Instagram Stories on Saturday, Haley wrote: “I’m sorry to announce that Mark and I have gone our separate ways.
“We had the best year together and I really wish him all the best for the future.”
She added: “I’m going to listen to Taylor Swift,” with a broken heart emoji.
Chase star Mark Labbett has split from his girlfriend, TV presenter Hayley Palmer, after a year together.
Quizzer Mark, 58, and Sky Entertainment reporter Hayley, 42, celebrated their first anniversary on social media a week ago.
Confirming the news of their breakup on her Instagram Stories on Saturday, Haley wrote, “It is with regret that I announce that Mark and I have gone our separate ways.”
A source said Sun: ‘Mark had a great time with Hayley and respects her a lot, but they wanted different things.
‘She loves to dress up and go to parties and showbiz events, while he prefers to stay at home.
‘Mark felt there was too much age difference between them to be successful in the long term. They are still friendly.
‘Away from his work in television and film, Mark enjoys a quiet life and spending time with his son. He still hopes to find someone to settle down with someday.
Mark, known as The Beast on The Chase, and Hayley spoke about their first anniversary during an appearance on Loose Women earlier this month.
The couple, who met through their work, said the fact they didn’t see each other too often meant they felt their bond was stronger.
He said: “Because we live quite far apart (I live in Sheffield, Rotherham, she’s a Chelsea girl), we tend to look at our diaries and see if we can sync up together.”
“The good news is that we see each other every few weeks, but we make the most of it when we’re together to get the best of both worlds.”
Ahead of their anniversary celebrations this month, Mark spoke to The Sun about what he had planned for his date on the special day.
He said: “We found a bench in a quiet place by the beach and spent hours talking and getting to know each other, so we decided to come back to celebrate our anniversary.”
Hayley added: “The good news is we see each other every few weeks but we make the most of when we are together to get the best of both worlds.”
“We don’t see each other and then I say, ‘Actually, we really want to get together…”‘
Hayley playfully nudged Mark before finishing: ‘…And not sharing our chips!’ And the audience laughed out loud.
Ahead of their anniversary celebrations, Mark spoke to Sun about what he had planned for his date on the special day.
He said: ‘We found a bench in a quiet spot by the beach and spent hours talking and getting to know each other, so we decided to come back to celebrate our anniversary.
‘As luck would have it, there is a pretty nice Beefeater near where his parents live. You know Hayley’s order: nachos and fries.
Hayley said at the time that she couldn’t wait for the date and would make their anniversary “a month long” if she could.
The couple had been dating since early 2023, and Mark previously admitted he was a “very, very lucky man” to be with her.
Sources claimed the star courted the TV presenter on a series of dates after being “friends for some time”, following his split from wife Katie in 2020.
Hayley previously admitted on Good Morning Britain: “I don’t watch The Chase, no offence, but I never make it to 5pm.”
The couple had been dating since early 2023, and Mark previously admitted he was a “very, very lucky man” to be with her.
“I came to see Beat The Chasers and he did everything right and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s really sexy.'”
Mark admitted that the relationship had its challenges due to the distances between them, as he lives in Rotherham, while Hayley lives in London.
Speaking about long distance, he said: “We do a lot of checking with our diaries, so, for example, we’ve both worked out that we’ll be in Southampton next month for a few nights, so we’ve arranged some dates while we’re there.” You are down there.
Hayley added: “I think it’s healthy sometimes.” When you meet someone, it’s too early, but we both really want to see each other in a few weeks.
