Tess Daly and Vernon Kay were hailed as British TV's 'golden couple' for over two decades.

They started dating after meeting in 2001, with Vernon going on to pop the question the following year on Christmas Day.

Despite a 'sexting' scandal that surfaced in 2010, the presenting duo were considered one of the strongest pairings in showbiz. 

But last week, they announced their 22 years of marriage had come to an end, declaring they had decided to 'separate amicably'.

The pair admitted they had agonised over the decision but were determined to remain supportive parents to their daughters, Phoebe, 21, and Amber, 16.

While the news came as a shock to many, Tess, 57, and Vernon, 52, had been hinting at their impending separation in recent months.

Speaking in an interview back in April, Vernon suggested that the pair's dynamic with their two children has recently evolved.

'Now that Phoebe is 21 and Amber is nearly 17, our relationship with them is changing,' the presenter told The Times. 

'We talk about encouraging them to leave the nest and be independent, but we don't really want them to.'

He also explained that the key to their parenting is making sure they have open communication with their two daughters.

Vernon continued: 'We talked openly about everything from the moment we realised the girls could understand [the subject] … Communication is everything.'

The pair's social media pages have also been quiet from their usual loved-up snaps in recent months, with Tess last posting an image of them back in February.

Meanwhile, Vernon last posted an image of his wife back in November to congratulate her on receiving an MBE for services to broadcasting.

'Since we met, your drive, dedication, focus and professionalism in how you work and live is a huge inspiration,' he penned alongside the image. 

Their split comes just six months after Tess announced a massive change in her professional life, too, having departed from Strictly Come Dancing.

Speaking about the big changes in her life during a podcast appearance in October, the BBC star reflected on empty nest syndrome – with her and Vernon's two daughters both about to move out of the family home. 

Their eldest daughter Phoebe, is pursuing modelling, while their youngest daughter Amber, is planning to study at university soon.

'It's going to be really weird,' she told Giovanna Fletcher's Happy Mum podcast.

'I'm going to have way too much time on my hands. If you remove [my children] from the picture, it looks like a very different picture, and I can't quite imagine it yet.'

The star explained that the last 20 years of her life had been defined by her children's needs.

'It could be gorgeous to just have the chance to do those things I've never had a chance to do,' she said. 

'As a mum, I've never been away on breaks with my girlfriends – not once in 20 years of being a mum, because [my daughters have] needed me more.'

Just one day prior to announcing their split, sources told of how Tess hoped to go away 'for a whole year', but Vernon would only be able to travel for a few weeks given his work commitments. 

They said: 'Tess always put Vernon and the girls first and now she wants to be a bit selfish and make the most of their situation and her new-found freedom.'

The source added to Closer magazine: 'She has been working since her teens and never really got to do all the travelling. She feels she's missed out even though she knows how lucky she is.

'Vernon says they couldn’t really do a whole year as he has his Radio 2 show, but he likes the idea of jetting off for weeks at a time, then coming home.'

Vernon previously praised Tess' 'independence' when they first met, as it has emerged that the once-solid couple were living separate lives before their split.

Recalling their initial encounter, he told The Telegraph: 'She didn't know anyone except me because we'd worked together that day – she spotted me in a crowd and we had a laugh.

'I was instantly attracted by how independent Tess was, and that's not changed at all.'

However, a source told Daily Mail's Katie Hind that the couple were living separate lives before their split.

They said: ‘Basically, without meaning to, they’ve been living separate lives. They don’t really do much together any more, they have different interests and hobbies.

‘They had grown apart. They acknowledged that and decided that life would be better if they were to split.'

Read Katie's full article, where friends of the couple revealed what really went on behind closed doors.

On Friday, the pair released a joint statement, revealing that they had reached a mutual agreement to go their separate ways, though friends of the couple said they were both still at their marital home in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, yesterday.

The couple wrote: 'After much consideration, and with a deep sense of care and respect for one another, we have made the decision to separate amicably.

'This has not been an easy choice, but it comes from a place of mutual understanding and a shared desire of what is best for both of us. We remain great friends and, most importantly, fully committed to our roles as loving and supportive parents, which will always be our priority.

'There are no other parties involved in this decision. We kindly ask for privacy during this time.

'We will not be making any further public comments.'

Tess and Vernon – thought to be worth around £10million – were last seen publicly together in February of this year when they hosted an episode of The One Show. They are also food ambassadors for Marks & Spencer.

Friends of the two, who met while presenting Top Of The Pops@Play together in 2001, were stunned to learn of the news.

One said: 'When Vernon told me, I was stunned, I didn't see it coming, nobody did. This is going to take some getting used to.'

But while it may have come as a surprise to outsiders, sources close to Tess and Vernon say they have spent a 'significant' amount of time coming to the decision.

Their two daughters, Phoebe and Amber were 'completely involved' in the conversations.

'Tess and Vernon are actually really, really happy now,' says a friend. 'They're still living together for now though that will of course change in the near future. 

'The girls were very much part of the decision. They had grown apart, they are different to when they first met. They acknowledged that and decided life would be better if they were to split. 

'They are both in their 50s, they have so much time left and they have decided they would be happier not being together so that's what they've done. It is all very, very amicable.

'They have lived through so much together, they have had so many happy times.

'They have had more than two decades of laughs and are extremely proud of their girls but they know splitting is for the best.'

Sources say there is no third party involved and it is understood that divorce lawyers are yet to be instructed but that the plan is to do so down the line.

The couple began dating back in the early 2000s when Tess hosted children's show SMTV and Vernon was a model trying to make it as a television presenter.

They were widely regarded as a bubbly, carefree pairing – when they married at St Mary's Catholic Church in Horwich, near Bolton where Vernon grew up, they had a VW camper van as a wedding car.

They have been regarded as one of the strongest marriages in showbusiness, despite Vernon being caught 'sexting' Page 3 model Rhian Sugden in 2010.

Tess was devastated when she learned that Vernon had been messaging Rhian, 39, after meeting in a Bolton nightclub.

While they didn't have a sexual relationship, a distraught Tess battled to save their marriage and eventually forgave him.

Rhian later spoke about the scandal in Channel 4 documentary Page Three: The Naked Truth. 

She said: 'He just got away with it. It ruined everything for me. I felt like I was going up and up with my career and then that came along. 

'I wish I'd never met him. He got to give an apology on the radio and just got to carry on, with Family Fortunes, ironically. It still makes me feel sick.'

Vernon also admitted to sending flirty messages to 'four or five girls' during the same period.

'I've let down my wife Tess. I'm an idiot,' he confessed on-air. 'I've been stupid and daft but I'm not a sex pest.' 

Vernon's extra-marital activities didn't only devastate Tess but also saw his career take a nose dive. Once the golden boy of ITV, he struggled to get high-profile, lucrative work.

Their split comes just five months after Tess hosted her last ever Strictly, which she had fronted with the late Sir Bruce Forsyth since it launched in 2004, followed by Claudia Winkleman.

Even during the last series, Vernon was a regular at Elstree Studios, where the programme is made, to support his wife. A friend of Tess's said: 'It's all changed for her within six or seven months. She's happy.'