Katherine Ryan has revealed she felt “really depressed” after her now-husband Bobby Kootstra left her as a teenager, decades before they rekindled their romance and married.
The comedian, 40, and her husband were childhood sweethearts in their native Canada before separating for 20 years.
However, in 2018 they reunited after crossing paths by chance when Katherine returned to Canada to film Who Do You Think You Are?
The couple are now married and share children Fred, two, and Fenna, 17 months, as well as Katherine’s daughter Violet, 14, from a previous relationship.
The TV presenter has now opened up about her teenage romance and admitted she was so heartbroken over their split that she once refused to leave her father’s apartment during a fire evacuation.
Katherine Ryan has revealed she felt “really depressed” after her now-husband Bobby Kootstra left her as a teenager, decades before they rekindled their romance and married (pictured together in February).
The comedian, 40, and her husband were childhood sweethearts in their native Canada, before separating for 20 years (pictured together as teenagers).
However, in 2018 they reunited after crossing paths by chance when Katherine returned to Canada to film Who Do You Think You Are?
Speaking to Gyles Brandreth on his Rosebud podcast, she explained that she had been “on call” after the breakup, which coincided with a series of difficult family tragedies.
Katherine recalled: ‘(The relationship) lasted about a year, until he broke up with me and I was heartbroken when he broke up with me.
“That’s when everything started to fall apart. My grandmother had died, my parents divorced, and my grandfather died shortly after my grandmother died.
She admitted that she was so depressed that she could barely eat or leave the house, comparing herself to a “sad skeleton.”
When the fire alarm went off at her father’s apartment building, Katherine was left lying on the ground, causing her father to fear the worst.
She said: ‘I was really heartbroken. I took out all my eyelashes and most of my eyebrows. I lost a lot of weight because I only ate Cool Ranch Doritos for a whole month. I was really depressed.
And one night I was at my father’s equally depressing bachelor pad, which he had chosen because it was across the street from the golf course, and someone pulled the fire alarm.
And I remember I was lying on the floor, probably eating Cool Ranch Doritos, and my dad was out for ice cream with my sisters.
The couple are now married and share children Fred, two, and Fenna, 17 months, as well as Katherine’s daughter Violet, 14, from a previous relationship (pictured all together).
The TV presenter has now opened up about her teenage romance, admitting she was so heartbroken over their split that she once refused to leave her father’s apartment during a fire evacuation (pictured with Bobby at the prom).
He explained that he had been “on call” after the breakup, which coincided with a series of difficult family tragedies, and became so depressed that he could barely eat or leave the house, comparing himself to a “sad skeleton” (pictured in February).
“I wouldn’t go with them, I wouldn’t do anything, I was like this sad skeleton that lived in the house.”
She continued: ‘All these fire trucks came and everyone evacuated the apartment complex, but I was left lying on the ground.
‘And then when my dad came home with the sisters, he thought something really terrible had happened because I was on duty. Everyone knew, “Oh, Katherine, she’s a very sad teenager.”
Fortunately, Katherine was unharmed, but explained that she only managed to recover when she and Bobby got back together.
She said: ‘And then he just asked me to go out again, we started dating again and I became happy again.’
“Then we broke up again, but this time I was less sad and I went to university and didn’t see him for 20 years.”
Katherine previously revealed that Bobby ended their relationship even though they were deeply in love, because he knew they were too young and needed to experience life first.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain in 2019, she admitted: “I was difficult as a teenager. When he broke up with me, I don’t blame him.
Katherine previously revealed that Bobby ended their relationship even though they were deeply in love, because he knew they were too young and needed to experience life first (pictured as teenagers on the left and now on the right).
Katherine and Bobby did not speak for the next two decades, until they met in a pub, in a twist of fate.
“He told me, ‘Katherine, we have to travel, we have to go to college.’ It was very logical. When you’re 16 and you’re in love, you think that’s it. I was like, ‘What do you mean you’re not We are getting married?”
Katherine and Bobby didn’t speak for the next two decades, until they met in a pub, in a twist of fate.
He previously recounted the moment he saw his teenage love for the first time in 20 years, during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show.
She said: ‘I went to the pub with my sister and my first love walks into this pub when I was 15.
“I haven’t seen him in 20 years. He’s wearing an old sweater, he looked like a full-blooded Hemsworth brother, just handsome… I haven’t seen him in 20 years.’
She added: “I really liked him at the time. When we were young, I was deeply in love with him. We were the king and queen of the prom.
Bobby and Katherine entered into a civil partnership in 2019 and flew to Denmark for the ceremony.
She recently confessed that she’s not sure how long their marriage will last, even though he is “very fit,” as the future is incredibly unpredictable.
speaking to Sun: ‘We’ve only been married for five years, but 50 years? I don’t know. Everyone is happy after the first five, while I’m more like, “Can we make it to 20, 40, and 50 years?”
But he added cheekily: “It’s easy to love him, look how fit he is.”
Bobby and Katherine entered into a civil partnership in 2019 and flew to Denmark for the ceremony (pictured together last month).
