Cat Deeley is 'happy' for ex-husband Patrick Kielty as he moves on with new romance and has told pals 'he's a better person when he is happy'

Cat Deeley is said to be 'happy' for her ex-husband Patrick Kielty after he enjoyed a date with businesswoman Michelle McManus. 

Friends of Cat have told how his 'new romance' with the fashion merchandising company owner, 47, will make the TV star, 55, 'a better person'.

According to The Sun, Cat told pals: 'She seems nice, and she is doing me a favour, he’s a better person when he’s happy.'

The friends added: 'Cat’s attitude is: "Good luck to them. At the end of the day, that’s the whole point of separating in the first place".

'She is genuinely happy for him, and knows it’s good for them that he’s happy and positive. Cat herself is in a great place and that’s where she wants to stay.'

The Daily Mail has approached ITV and Cat's representatives for comment. 

Patrick and Michelle were seen enjoying a 'cosy' pub date last week, just over a year since he announced his split from Cat, 49.

Patrick, who shares sons Milo, 10, and James, eight, with This Morning star Cat, left the north London pub with a beaming Michelle after enjoying a cosy three-hour dinner date and glasses of wine. 

Dressed smartly in a blazer and unbuttoned shirt, Patrick followed behind his date, who looked chic in a loose white t-shirt and jeans, with a red sweater tied around her shoulders. 

An insider has revealed that the couple, who according to pub punters looked 'very in-sync', met over the summer after being introduced by a friend.

Michelle is a successful businesswoman, setting up fashion merchandising company Rolling People, which represents brands including Veja and Bash, in 2011 with her ex-husband. 

She separated from her husband four years ago whilst Patrick confirmed his separation from Cat in a joint statement in July 2025. 

'It's still early days, but they get on really well,' the insider has told The Sun. 'Michelle has been separated from her husband for four years and Patrick has been single since splitting with Cat. They were both single when they met.'

In their joint statement last summer, both Cat and Patrick insisted that ‘no other party’ was involved in the breakdown of their marriage.

They added how they would ‘continue to be united as loving parents to our children’.

Whilst they released the statement in July, Patrick’s family previously told the Daily Mail they ‘knew’ his marriage to Cat was over in March 2025, when she failed to attend the funeral of his mother Mary in Dundrum, County Down.

Patrick and Cat first met in 2002 when they hosted the BBC talent series Fame Academy together.

But it wasn’t until a decade later that their friendship turned into a romance.

They went public with their relationship in May 2012 and by September, were married in an intimate ceremony in Rome.

After living in Los Angeles for 15 years, the couple moved back to the UK in 2020 and Cat took over from Holly Willoughby on ITV's This Morning four years later.

Cat sparked romance rumours herself recently by cosying up to film industry boss Charlie Coleman at a BST Hyde Park concert in London in July.

Charlie, an executive at Amazon MGM Studios, placed his hand on Cat's shoulder at the Lewis Capaldi gig, and the pair were seen laughing and enjoying drinks.

Sources previously told how Cat was open to the idea of dating, but would not sign up to an app.

In rare comments about her new single status, Cat revealed last week how she enlisted a nanny to help raise her young sons. 

Sharing an insight into her new life as a single mother, Cat said she and Patrick co-parent their boys ‘50-50’.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, she said: ‘It’s about being as organised as you can possibly be. I have an amazing nanny too.’

Cat also admitted the admin of co-parenting can often keep her awake in the middle of the night, reasoning: ‘Everybody’s doing their best.’

The Daily Mail recently revealed how the ex couple have now put their home in Hampstead, north London, on the market for £5.25million, after buying it for nearly £5million in 2023.