The Chase star Mark Labbett reveals why he suddenly broke up with Hayley Palmer

Mark Labbett split up with Hayley Palmer because he "got old".

The 59-year-old quizzer called time on his relationship with TV presenter Hayley, 43, just days after they celebrated their first anniversary as a couple in May 2024 and has now revealed that while he was "very lucky" to have her for a period of time, he is "not looking" for anyone else now that he is single again.

He told The Sun: "It's me, I got old. She's [Hayley's] a lovely lady and I was very lucky to date her for a year, and as I said...it's me, I got old.

"There's been no one since Hayley, I'm not saying there won't be another one. But I'm certainly not looking."

'The Chase' star insisted that he has reached the stage in life where he is "quite content being in or out of a relationship" because he is happy in his own company but also has a solid friendship group to balance things out.

He said: "I joke I am a shed man - a guy of a certain age that's quite content being in or out of a relationship - but loves to be spending time on their own.

"It's primal, I think it goes all the way back to the hunter-gatherers where the man would go off a lot of time on their own.

"To be fair it's not just men, there are people who actually like their own company.

"I've got a friendship group around here where we go out but at the same time, I've really loved this summer, just being quietly here etc."

The 'Saturday Night with Hayley Palmer' presenter previously claimed that she was broken up with via phone call and that Mark had not actually wanted to proceed with his divorce from wife Katie, even though their marriage had come to an end before he began any other sort of relationship.

Speaking on the 'My Dirty Laundry' podcast, she said: "I got a call on the Friday morning and he was asking me 'How are you, are you on GB News this Satuday?' And then he said 'Right, this is not going to be easy to tell you but I don't want to get a divorce.

"My whole world came crashing down because I couldn't believe it was said in such a cold way that I literally just put down the phone and had a panic attack. I walked around for three hours not knowing where I was going. I absolutely lost it. The shock hit my nervous system so much."