The Chase’s Mark Labbett SPLITS from wife Katie so she can date her lover after open marriage fails

The Chase star Mark Labbett has revealed he’s split from wife Katie so she can be free to date her lover, after their open marriage failed to work.

The quizzer, 55, broke up from his nurse wife, 28, following seven years of marriage, listing lockdown, his mental health and their age differences as factors contributing to the split.

In a candid new interview, Mark, known on the ITV quiz show as ‘The Beast’ admitted ‘It’s better for us to go our separate ways.’ 

All over: The Chase star Mark Labbett has revealed he’s split from wife Katie so she can be free to date her lover, after their open marriage failed to work

He told 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.’

While Katie added: ‘I just want everyone to know what’s what and that we are all happy.’

It’s been revealed that Katie has been seeing her lover Scott Bate, 30, for 18 months. 

Mark, who shares a three-year-old son with Katie, admitted that he had a feeling that she was seeing Scott, but decided to approach things sensibly for the sake of their son.

Marriage breakdown: The quizzer, 55, broke up from his nurse wife, 28, following seven years of marriage, listing lockdown, his mental health and their age differences as factors contributing to the split

But when lockdown came, things between him and Katie became strange and she started seeing Scott, resulting in Mark making thye decision to end their marriage for good.

He explained: ‘When Katie first came clean to me about her boyfriend, I’d had an inkling. But right from the start, my attitude was quite pragmatic — this was spilt milk, what could we do about the situation to make it OK?’

He added that because they had a ‘family’ he simply could just ‘throw that away lightly’ as they had other ‘considerations’.

Amicable: ‘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’ (pictured in 2016)