Mark Labbett and wife Katie had open marriage for 18 months after she cheated

Mark Labbett put his heartache aside for 18 months after catching wife Katie cheat on him with her lover.

But despite his best efforts in looking past the unfaithfulness, The Chase star, 55, decided an open marriage was not meant to be and subsequently split from Katie.

Katie has been dating senior design engineer Scott Bate, 30, for more than one and a half years after Mark accidentally discovered the pair’s twisted romance.

The former couple, who share a three-year-old son, have now confirmed the news, with Mark telling The Sun : “There was never any deceit on Katie’s part but it’s got to the point now where I realise it is better for us to go our separate ways and remain friendly.”

Nurse Katie has now said: “I just want everyone to know what’s what and that we are all happy.”

Despite the utter heartbreak after catching his wife with another man, Mark was determined to make their rocky marriage work for the sake of their child.

But with lockdown creating extra pressure for the pair, Katie began seeing lover Scott again as soon as restrictions eased – forcing Mark to make a decision.

The telly star – who is known as The Beast on the hit quiz show – admitted that the strain from the relationship began having a snowball effect on his mental health.

He added: “It’s got to the point where I realise it’s better for us to go our separate ways and remain friendly, without the stress factor of living together.”

But despite his decision to call it quits on his marriage to Katie, Mark is comfortable for his little boy to be looked after by Scott.

News of Katie’s unfaithfulness first came to light last March.

In fact, the pair had even gone on holiday during their secret romance.

After Mark found out about the sordid affair, he was still willing to save the marriage, but his best efforts weren’t enough.

Mark and Katie met on Facebook in 2010 and they got together two years later.

They got engaged the following year and tied the knot at Arundel Cathedral in West Sussex 12 months later.

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