Strictly star Zoe Ball’s colourful dating history after Fatboy Slim divorce

She is best known for her amazing work on the Strictly Come Dancing spin-off show It Takes Two, but that’s not all the TV presenter does in her free time.

Zoe Ball also hosts a regular breakfast show on BBC Radio 2 which she has managed since she took over the prime-time slot for former Top Gear star Chris Evans in 2019.

Since the 50-year-old stepped back from her life on the hit BBC catchup show, the 50-year-old has purchased a lavish £1.5million property in the heart of Sussex.

But the beloved BBC presenter has also had quite a colourful slew of romantic partners in recent history since the blonde bombshell split from her husband of 18 years in 2016.

So, which A-list celebs has the TV star been with and who does she now share her gorgeous mansion with? The Daily Star has taken a deep dive inside Zoe’s love life to answer just that.

Norman Cook (1999 – 2016)

Zoe first started dating her husband Norman, who went by the DJ name of Fatboy Slim while she was working at BBC Radio 1 in the late 1990s and their relationship was electric.

The pair met when BBC bosses informed the radio host that the show was going out to Ibiza during the peak of the summer months in collaboration with the chart-topping DJ.

As she reflected on the early days of their relationship, she confessed that although she’d never met him before she had enjoyed his rolodex of music during her childhood.

She told radio listeners: “I’d never met Norman before but I loved Fatboy Slim, I’d loved the Housemartins and if you’d have shown me a video of the Housemartins when I was 15 years old and said, ‘You’re going to marry him, that guy in the video there' I’d be like ‘Are you crazy? Of course I'm not!’

“I just thought he’s wild and free and fun and it was sort of the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

And as they started to get to know one another, Zoe admitted she put on the moves by making the world-class DJ a mix-tape.

“It took us a while to get to know each other. There was a bit of wooing involved and the old way of wooing of course, was the classic mixtape.

"So, I made Norman a mixtape," she confessed. "Who makes a DJ a mixtape?”

It didn’t take long for the music star to pop the question to the blonde beauty and the pair went on to tie the knot in 1999 when she was just 33.

The happy couple welcomed two beautiful children throughout their marriage, their 20-year-old son Woody and 11-year-old daughter Nelly.

But it wasn’t meant to be as the pair later announced their separation in 2016 after almost 20 years of marriage.

Marital affairs

It wasn’t always easy for the loving couple as their marriage had been rocked just four years into their shared lives together with reports of infidelity.

In 2003, the radio host opened up about her affair with one of her husband’s close friends and fellow DJ Dan Peppe.

Luckily the loving couple managed to patch things up but it was only 12 years later that the Strictly star hit the headlines again after she was pictured kissing Franklin Lake boyband member Tay Tay Starhz at a Christmas party.

The pair were seen locking lips at Freedom night club in Soho during a wrap party for the spin-off show It Takes Two.

It is understood that the mum-of-two struggled to stay at home with her husband Norman, who had recently kicked his alcoholism in 2009, which soon led to their unfortunate divorce.

Billy Yates (2016 – 2017)

But Zoe soon found love again with Antiques Roadshow crew member Billy Yates in 2016 after the pair built a strong friendship working in the BBC offices.

However, their romance was short-lived after the cameraman was found dead in his home in Putney on May 4, 2017 after he took his own life at the age of 40.

The radio host was understandably overcome with grief following the tragic news after it was reported the star was head over heels in love with Billy.

Her father and kid's TV star Johnny Ball previously said at the time that his daughter was “very happy” with Billy and described her late partner as “lovely”.

After his sudden passing, Zoe took a much-needed break from her regular BBC Radio 2 show to mourn the loss of her boyfriend as her supportive friend Kate Thornton stepped into her shoes to present the show.

On September 14, 2018, the TV presenter returned to her beloved radio show and paid an emotional tribute to her late boyfriend on what would have been his 42nd birthday.

During an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, the star confessed getting over his death was the “hardest thing” she’s ever dealt with.

She said: “He’d lived with depression for a huge chunk of his life. It's so hard to sit and watch someone you love and care for struggle with mental health.

“Losing his was the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with in my life.”

Michael Reed (2018 – present)

More than a year after Billy’s passing, Zoe got back out into the dating pool again and started dating construction firm boss, Michael Reed.

The happy couple first hit the headlines after The Sun exclusively revealed that the pair had enjoyed an intimate night together in the London back in 2018.

In November 2019 it was thought the pair had gone their separate ways after her close circle of friends raised their concerns that the businessman may be using her to “enhance his own career".

A source told The Sun at the time of their split: “Zoe knew deep down the relationship wasn’t going anywhere.

“She enjoyed her time with Michael but came to the conclusion he wasn’t a keeper, despite him believing they were getting serious.

“There were certain things she grew uncomfortable with, such as him wanting to become a model and actor.

“Her close circle feared he was using her to enhance his own career.”

But luckily the pair managed to resolve their differences and got back together in January 2020 and have remained together ever since.

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