Cat Deeley: the moment Kielty won my heart
Cat Deeley opens up about why Dundrum comedian is the only man for her
WHEN it comes to picking the perfect partner, television presenter Cat Deeley gushes that husband Patrick Kielty is definitely ‘the one’.
Cat (40), a former model-turned-presenter, married comedian Patrick, from Dundrum, Co Down in 2012 in a private ceremony in Rome after an 11-month romance.
The pair initially met when they worked together as co-presenters on the BBC talent show Fame Academy.
Despite the chemistry between them, both were seeing other partners, and did not get together for another 10 years.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, the mother to Patrick’s oneyear-old son Milo said she was blown away by his Northern Irish charm and confidence.
Although not her usual type, Cat, from Sutton Coldfield in England, took a chance on Patrick and it’s a decision that she said she hasn’t regretted.
She said: “I always used to go for the same chocolate in the box and then I went for the strawberry cream and decided I liked it.
“And the thing I love about Patrick is that he’d say I was the lucky one, and he’s right, I am.
“You can’t ever guarantee you are going to find the right person — I’m just very lucky it happened to me.”
They have been married for five years and live between Los Angeles, Belfast and London depending on which shows they are each working on.
But now as new parents they miss the stability of being back with family in the UK.
“I do miss it,’ she said. “I miss my family more now that we have Milo — it’s the same with Patrick’s family. We love hanging out as much as we can. I like to think that home is wherever we are, but I do feel more of a pull back to the UK these days.
“I love the LA lifestyle but I’m happy to come back, too. The UK will always be my home.”
The smitten pair are also getting used to holding down jobs across the world while being doting parents to Milo, often spending a fortnight here and there.
“We move around when we work,” she said.
“When we’re in LA and I’m working on So You Think You Can Dance, Patrick records interviews for Radio 2, and then I’ll fly over to London or we’ll spend a few weeks in Belfast.
“You can complain about it or you can make it work. We make it work.” Cat confesses that she knew Paddy was the only man for her when he surprised her by taking a last minute flight to Beverly Hills, where she was dining with friends, to wish her a happy 35th birthday.
He phoned her from his local pub the day before to see where she was. “It was 2am and he was at a lock-in at his local,” said Cat. “He rang to ask what I was doing for my birthday – I was going to a party at Seth MacFarlane’s house and then having lunch with friends the following day at The Beverly Hills Hotel.
“Patrick told me he’d see me at lunch.
“I just laughed and said, ‘Right.’ The next day I got up, went to lunch and in walked Patrick.
“There was a strange little moment like in the movies when everyone else just seemed to melt away.
“We spent the afternoon together just drinking, laughing, talking. He told me he wanted to be with me forever.
“He was very clear this was what he wanted, and that was what got me.
“I have lived a life where I’ve met lots of incredible people and
What did it was this man who had confidence to say what he wanted... no games, no pretence
been to lots of places, so it takes a lot to blow my socks off. But what did it was this man who had the confidence to say what he wanted, to fly halfway around the world to get it. No games, no pretence. “He came back to my house that night, stayed for 10 days and that was it.
“If people think attractive is just George Clooney and Cindy Crawford – well, they need a wake-up call. “There’s nothing more attractive than a man who absolutely knows what he wants and who will put his cards on the table, who can make you laugh.
“That’s the man you want to be with for the rest of your life.”