The Chasers' love lives – marriage to second cousin, wife rumours and 'let-down' sex

The Chase’s Jenny Ryan turns 41 years old today (April 2) – but how much do you know about her life away from the ITV gameshow?

The star, known as ‘The Vixen’, tends to keep her personal life away from the public eye.

However, she has teased that there is a mystery man in her life after mentioning a significant other on social media in 2016.

READ MORE: The Chase hit with complaints from annoyed fans as player boos Bradley Walsh

Jenny is just one of the ITV gameshow’s stars to have opened up about romance in recent years – and here, Daily Star takes a look inside the The Chaser’s love lives.

Mark Labbett – ‘The Beast’

Mark Labbett was one of the original chasers and joined the ITV show in 2009 as ‘The Beast’.

He has spoken openly about his marriage to ex-wife Katie, after the couple met through Facebook.

They later married in 2014, but Mark and Katie received a shock on their wedding day when they discovered that they were second cousins – as Mark’s dad and Katie’s father are first cousins.

Speaking about their family connection, Mark told the Loose Women panel: “It wasn’t something we were aware of at the time – it was one of those things that happened.”

Mark and Katie later welcomed a son called Laurence.

The Sun reported that the couple later divorced in 2020, citing their 27-year age gap and life in the Covid-19 lockdown for their split.

They continue to remain on good terms and co-parent their son, with Katie moving on with Scott Bate.

Mark said: “When Katie first came clean to me about her boyfriend, I’d had an inkling.”

However he added: “We had a family. We couldn’t just throw that away lightly. There were other considerations. But Covid provided the perfect storm. My mental health suffered and the differences in our ages became magnified.

“With Katie seeing Scott after lockdown, it’s got to the point where I realise it’s better for us to go our separate ways and remain friendly, without the stress factor of living together.”

During a seperate interview with The Sun, Mark also admitted that he was enjoying the single life and that he was “married to his work.”

“I’m single, I say I’m married to my work, this is the first time I’ve been out out in a while. Right now I’m really appreciating my time.

“I’ve just had two weeks off in the glamourous resort of Rotherham, where I’ve been staying in my flat and I can just put the sport on, watch the films I wanted to watch, play computer games, had a go even on FIFA and I just loved it.”

Shaun Wallace – ‘The Dark Destroyer’

Barrister Shaun Wallace joined the show as ‘The Dark Destroyer’ in 2009 as one of the original chasers.

The star has kept his personal life away from the limelight, but did hit back at rumours that he was married during one interview.

On Wikipedia Shaun was listed as being married to a woman called Matilda, but he explained to The Sun that he had complained to the company about these claims.

The Sun on Sunday reported that a source close to the ITV star also said: “There is no Matilda, never was.”

He has since given fans a rare glimpse into his love life during a special edition of Loose Women called Loose Men in 2022, saying: “I mean I’ve never been married.

“Although, according to Wikipedia I was married to a woman called Martha for about 30 years!”

Shaun continued to say: “Marriage is not for everybody but I think as far as marriage is concerned, it’s a wonderful institution that still should be part of our everyday society.

“But, you don’t have to get married in order to be in a loving, committed and honest relationship.”

Anne Hegerty – ‘The Governess’

Anne Hegerty has appeared as ‘The Governess’ on The Chase since 2010, and has been one of the stars of the programme to have spoken very candidly about her love life.

During an appearance on TV series The Chaser’s Road Trip, Anne spoke about being diagnosed with autism and how she finds that this makes it hard for her to hold down relationships.

She could be heard saying: “I’m just not good with the sort of amount of attention that people need.”

During a separate appearance on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! she and fellow contestant John Barrowman could be heard talking about relationships.

When John asked her if she had a partner, Anne replied: “No I don’t.

“When I was working out that I was autistic it clarified a lot of things for me and one of those things was, ‘That’s why I never seem to be able to make it work, that’s why I always feel claustrophobic in a relationship.’

“That’s why I kind of think that’s probably not intended for me.”

Anne was also forced to speak out against rumours that she was married, after her Wikipedia page reported that she had a husband called Jake Hester.

A fan questioned her about her marriage status on social media in 2018, with the star replying: “Is it still claiming I’m married to someone called Jake Hester? I’ve given up trying to correct it.”

Speaking about the incident to The Sun, she said: “I used to go into my page to change things like where I was born and my hometown but I’ve stopped bothering now.”

She added: “It still claims I’m married to someone called Jake Hester! I seriously don’t know who he is.”

Her marriage status on Wikipedia has since been deleted.

Anne did reveal during an interview with The Sun that her longest relationship had lasted four months, after she met a man she had “fancied for years” at a Mastermind Club.

“The longest was with a man I met at the Mastermind Club. I’d fancied him for years and we were together for four months.”

However she did make a candid admission about her sex life during the interview, saying: “Sex was always better in my head, I felt like I was somewhere else while it was happening.

“It made me realise I needed space both mentally and physically in life, and I can’t make it work.

“I don’t think I ever will. I still get attracted to people but having a relationship isn’t fair on the other person.”

In 2021, Anne also admitted to The Mirror that being single is “brilliant,” adding: “I still get attracted to people, but there’s no point in pursuing it.”

Paul Sinha – ‘The Sinnerman’

Paul Sinha joined The Chase as ‘The Sinnerman’ in 2011 and has spoken in the past about his sweet marriage to husband Oliver Levy.

Paul and Oliver began dating in 2016, with the chaser revealing that his dad found out about their relationship when the couple bumped into him in a supermarket.

The star tweeted a snap of Oliver at the till with his dad in Sainsburys, as he said: “2016, two months into dating, we got to Sainsburys. Me ‘be prepared, we might bump into my Dad and he doesn’t know about you’ Then…”

Three years later Paul proposed to Oliver, with the chaser revealing on an episode of Loose Women that the decision came after a “drunken epiphany.”

“It was over Christmas, I was drunk. I had a drunken epiphany that I wanted him to be part of my family officially rather than just unofficially,” said Paul.

“Plus, it’s nice to have your day in the sun, a day that’s just about you two.”

The couple married in the same year, with Paul adding that their wedding was “the greatest day of my life.”

During his Loose Women appearance, the star also opened up about the support he had received from Oliver following his diagnosis with Parkinsons disease, saying that his husband will often help him get dressed.

“I have to wake up, find the shirt and then wake Oliver up and say put the shirt on for me,” said Paul.

“My husband Oliver is quite calm and pragmatic person. He doesn’t panic about things. He has been a great support.”

Jenny Ryan – ‘The Vixen’

Jenny Ryan joined The Chase as ‘The Vixen’ in 2015, but tends to keep her personal life away from the public eye.

However, she did mention that there was a mystery man in her life back in 2016, after she made reference to a significant other on social media.

She wrote on Twitter: “My boyfriend is shark phobic but dog-obsessed so I am showing him all #BarkWeek pics to help him get over his fear. Cheers x,” alongside sweet photos of her pet pooch dressed in a shark outfit.

Jenny does not appear to have mentioned her boyfriend since, and it is not known if the couple are still together.

Darragh Ennis – ‘The Menace’

Darragh Ennis appeared on The Chase as ‘The Menace’ in 2017, before becoming a series regular in 2021.

Like co-star Jenny Ryan though, Darragh has remained tight lipped about his love life until recently, when he revealed during an interview that he received dancing lessons from his mother-in-law.

Speaking to RSVP Live about whether or not he would take part in BBC series Strictly Come Dancing, Darragh let slip that he was married as he said: “I got lessons for my wedding and after my first dance, my mother in law said to me, ‘I thought you got lessons?’, so that was how much of an improvement I had! I can’t dance. Something like Strictly would be way out.”

Darragh also revealed that he had met his wife while they were studying their PhDs at Maynooth University, Ireland, explaining that they worked in labs in the same hall as each other.

Together the couple have two children, with the chaser revealing on an episode of the ITV gameshow that they were “a little too old,” for him to know a question about a specific children’s TV show.

The Chase airs weekdays at 5pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk