Fearne Cotton has been pictured kissing TV director Elliot Hegarty on a night out 11 weeks after announcing her split from husband Jesse Wood.
The Happy Place podcaster, 43, has reportedly been secretly dating Elliot, 53, since January.
On December 16 Fearne announced her split from Reef rocker Jesse, who is son to Rolling Stones star Ronnie Wood.
Elliot, who has worked on TV shows including Ted Lasso, Rivals, Trying, and Bad Education, and his wife Laura – and mother of his three children – reportedly separated on Boxing Day, according to The Sun.
A source told the publication of their blossoming relationship: ‘Fearne and Elliot have known each other for a while. When their marriages ended their friendship developed into romance.
‘They have been seeing each other since January.
‘Her split with Jesse was incredibly difficult but Elliot seems to make her incredibly happy.
‘Fearne is now introducing Elliot to friends and they’re pleased to see her smiling again.’
The outlet has obtained photographs of the pair passionately kissing on a night out together in the street.
The TV presenter announced the news of her split to her 3.9million Instagram followers in a statement, which read: ‘It is with a heavy heart that I let you all know that Jesse and I are ending our marriage.’
She added: ‘Our priority has been, and will always be, our children.
‘We ask that you respect the privacy of our family at this time.’
The former Top Of The Pops host met Jesse on a girls’ holiday to Ibiza in 2011, and they went on to marry in an intimate London ceremony in July 2014 while being cheered on by the likes of Holly Willoughby, McBusted, and Keith Lemon.
They welcomed their first child, a son named Rex, in February 2013, and, in February 2015, Fearne announced that she was expecting a second child, which contributed to her reasons for leaving BBC Radio 1.
In September of that year, she announced that she had given birth to a daughter, Honey.
The news of their split came after the couple celebrated their 10-year anniversary in summer 2024, for which they dug out their wedding outfits and recreated a photo from the day.
Since the split, Jesse has remained tight-lipped, while the former Celebrity Juice star – who hosts her hit podcast Happy Place about mental wellness – has given a few hints on how she’s doing generally.
In an interview with Express, Fearne said of her life since the split: ‘My anxiety lasted a long time but I do feel like I’m breaking the back of it now, probably for certain reasons; my kids are that bit older, I feel like I’m slightly coming back to myself in ways, I’ve taken myself out of some situations that I know don’t work for me.’
She went on to say that she feels grateful to be in weekly therapy amid everything happening in her life.
Fearne previously spoke about going through ‘rough patches’ with her then-husband, writing in 2019: ‘Love takes hard work – and no one wants to hear that.’
In a column for Red Magazine, she continued: ‘I was trying to keep my own career going while looking after our kids and we were both desperately clinging on to our marriage.’
She said she and Jesse had fought in a local park, and their row ended in tears.
Fearne continued: ‘In the midst of this gargantuan row, I think we both wondered where the love had gone and worried that it might not come back.’
The news of their split came just days after Fearne announced that she underwent surgery for a benign jaw tumour.
Metro has contacted Fearne Cotton and Elliot Hegarty’s representatives for comment.
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