Declan Donnelly has been happily married to his wife Ali Astall for seven years, but the Britain’s Got Talent host was previously in a high-profile relationship with another TV star
Britain’s Got Talent host Declan Donnelly is happily wed to talent manager Ali Astall. The pair are parents to six year old daughter Isla, and their son Jack, aged two.
Astall had been managing Dec’s career for over ten years before they got together. “We always hung out,” Dec shared with the Daily Express back in 2014, reflecting on how their work partnership blossomed into love.
The 49 year old television favourite added, “When she was single and I was single we’d go out for dinner on Valentine’s Day together.”
He elaborated: “Last year we went out as a couple. It was a little strange because we’ve had a working relationship for so long.”
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But prior to his blissful marriage to Ali in 2015, Dec had a significant relationship with another well-known figure from the world of TV.
Before Ali, the BGT host had been romantically linked for more than a decade with a notable actress, reports Birmingham Live.
His initial high-profile romance was with Clare Buckfield, famed for her acting on Grange Hill and Two Point Four Children. They kicked off their relationship as teens in 1993, remained together for a solid decade, and even shared a posh home in south west London.
However, in 2002 their love was rocked by scandal when Dec was allegedly unfaithful with a 23 year old lap dancer named Tina Benson, whom he’d met at a nightclub, leaving Clare heartbroken when she found out about the supposed fling via newspaper reports.
“Nobody can be prepared for something like that,” she later reflected. “It was horrible, painful and unbelievably difficult.
“It was as bad as anyone would think it could be. We were together a very long time. I did think it would end up in marriage.”
Clare, who has also appeared in Doctors, Holby City and Steel River Blues, is now a mother to a son named Johnny, born in 2013.
Declan Donnelly previously confessed that his relationship with his wife Ali had an unusual beginning due to their professional connection. He admitted: “It was a little strange because we’ve had a working relationship for so long.
“But because it just happened there was no big ta-da. Things couldn’t be better for me at the minute.”
The couple began dating in 2014 and announced their engagement in December of the same year. Dec revealed he proposed on an Australian beach at sunset before heading off to film I’m A Celebrity.
“We went round to one side of the island, the only place on the island where you can see the sun set, and we just went round and we watched the sunset go down and we did it there, it was lovely,” Dec reminisced.
They exchanged vows at St Michael’s Roman Catholic Church in Elswick in a ceremony led by Dec’s brother Father Dermott Donnelly, who sadly passed away in 2022. His long-term TV partner Ant McPartlin served as best man on the day.