Mark Labbett, known as The Beast on ITV’s The Chase, dated Hayley Palmer for more than 12 months, but he allegedly dumped the TV presenter after calling off his divorce
The Chase star Mark Labbett’s “chilling” final words to ex Hayley Palmer sparked a brutal split that caused the TV presenter to seek therapy.
The 42-year-old began dating Mark, known as The Beast on the ITV daytime game show, last year, and the loved-up couple shared sweet selfies of their romantic trips together on social media. Mark, who split from his estranged wife in 2020, regularly told his Instagram followers he was happy and in love with Hayley, and the duo celebrated their one-year anniversary earlier this year.
However, in May the news was announced that Mark and Hayley had parted ways, and a spokesperson for the 58-year-old quiz show star said in a statement: “I can confirm that Mark and Hayley have split. He won’t be making any further comment at this time.” It was initially rumoured that the age gap between the couple had prompted the shock split, but Hayley claimed Mark dumped her as he had called off his divorce with his estranged wife Katie.
The TV presenter told My Dirty Laundry podcast she was having “nightmares and flashbacks” following the break-up, and confessed she was left blindsided by Mark who ended their relationship in a three-minute phone call. During their year-long romance, the quiz master had assured Hayley he was divorcing his estranged wife, 32, but admitted in the brutal phone conversation that he had changed his mind.
“He called me and said, ‘How are you? Are you on GB News this Saturday?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m booked to go on, can’t wait’… I was telling him everything. And then he said, ‘Right, this is not gonna be easy to tell you, but you were right. I don’t want to get a divorce,’” Hayley shared. She then recalled she hung up on Mark and had a panic attack, before blocking the 59-year-old on social media.
Hayley explained she had to seek therapy as she was having flashbacks of the “chilling” break-up, which caused her anxiety to worsen. “The way he did it, his voice still haunts me to this day. I’m having counselling because someone told me, ‘What you’ve had is betrayal trauma,’” she stated, as she added that the “shock” of the break-up has also caused her to have nightmares.
Hayley said there were no warning signs that Mark was going to end the relationship, and she’s been left feeling “low” by the shocking split. “I wish we could have just sat down and just said, ‘Look, this is the situation. Can we make it work? Okay, let’s stick together. Let’s put a statement out together.’ Because it all happened and I felt completely alone. I felt really scared. I am a positive person but I couldn’t get out of bed because I felt so low,” she sadly shared.
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