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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Amy Denman

Carol Vorderman’s love life from divorce heartache to having 'many special friends'

Carol Vorderman has been a household name for many years now – leaving people across the country longing to date her since her Countdown days.

The 61-year-old continues to put on sizzling displays with snaps shared to her Instagram and recently dazzled on the red carpet of the Pride of Britain Awards.

With her long and successful TV career, many fans are eager to know who Carol is dating. Here, we take a look at the TV star's love life...

Has Carol Vorderman been married?

The Welsh TV star has been married twice. She tied the knot with Christopher Mather in 1985 when she was 24.

But, their marriage wasn't to last long as Carol and Naval officer Christopher separated just one year after saying "I do".

In 2018 Carol joked that the reason her first marriage didn't work out was due to her performance of It's Raining Men on her wedding day.

Carol Vorderman has been married twice (Dave J. Hogan/Getty Images)
The Countdown star's first marriage lasted one year (carolvorders/Instagram)

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales, Carol explained: "When I got married for the first time, not terribly successfully… this could be the reason why…

"So we got married during the day and had the standard reception thing and then there was an evening do.

"I got changed into a sheer outfit, the kind of thing you would see on Strictly Come Dancing nowadays, and I had been leant it by the girls from Three, Two, One, the programme."

Carol giggled and added: "I got on the stage and I sang this [song] at my wedding and I was then dragged off by my husband and the marriage didn’t last long, so here we go, it’s raining men and you can understand his reasons."

Four years on from her split from Christopher, Carol wed management consultant Patrick King.

Carol and Patrick tied the knot in 1990 (Nils Jorgensen/REX/Shutterstock)
The TV star shares her two children Katie and Cameron with ex Patrick (WireImage)

Throughout their 10 year marriage the couple welcomed two children Katie and Cameron together.

Unfortunately, the couple divorced in 2000 – something Carol has admitted is a regret of hers.

She previously told Woman Magazine: "I never said why my marriage broke down and we’d agreed never to talk about it publicly.

"The divorce is a regret of mine and my mum thinks that we should have stayed together.

"He’s now remarried so there’s no chance of us getting back together."

Carol added: "Had my career not taken off like it did, Paddy and I probably wouldn’t have split up."

Later the TV star ruled out ever walking down the aisle again as she said: "I never want to get married again."

Who has Carol Vorderman dated?

Since her second divorce, Carol has stuck to her word and hasn't re-married. But, the Pride of Britain host has dated.

Carol and Des Kelly met at a Chrismas party (Getty Images)
Countdown star Carl and Des were together for six years (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

In the early 2000s, Carol enjoyed a long-term relationship with former Daily Mirror deputy editor Des Kelly after they met at a Christmas party.

Carol and Dec lived together and split their time between London and West Cork in Ireland.

However, after six years together the couple called it quits in 2006.

Carol and Graham dated for four years (WireImage)
After their split Carol confessed her toyboy romance with Graham Duff as 'a bit silly' (Twitter)

The Countdown beauty then went on to date Red Arrows veteran Graham 'Duffy' Duff, who was 14 years her junior.

Carol and Graham dated for four years and then had a short break up in 2015 before rekindling.

But, after trying to make things work Carol revealed the pair had gone their separate ways for good.

She told the Mirror in 2016: "I’m happily single, freely independent and doing my own thing."

Carol then added: "I’m not opposed to going out with someone 10 years younger, it’s acceptable. But Duffy was 14 years younger – that was a bit silly really."

Who is Carol Vorderman dating now?

Since her split from Graham, Carol has tended to keep her love life private.

Now, Carol has a number of 'special friends' but keeps their identities hidden (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

But, in 2019 the Welsh star spilled that she had a number of "special friends" and has been dating two of the men for years.

Speaking on This Morning, Carol spilled: "I live my life in chapters, and you said and this chapter since I was about 50. So for the last decade or so, I've lived a life which is much freer.

"I've never felt freer. So I have ignored the looking for one person and I have a number of what I've called 'special friends'."

She didn't reveal the identity of her 'special friends' but added: "They don't know each other, but they know about it. It's a very honest relationship.

"One of them has gone on for many more years than my marriage. Yeah, it's over 10 years. Another is seven. He's an astronaut. He rang me from the space station."

Watch the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, tonight, ITV, 8pm

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