This Morning’s Cat Deeley’s absence explained as she misses mother-in-law’s funeral

Cat Deeley did not attend her mother-in-law’s funeral as her husband Patrick Kielty bravely went without her to say his final goodbyes to his mum Mary Kielty

This Morning’s Cat Deeley was unable to attend her mother-in-law’s funeral, leaving her husband, Patrick Kielty, to mourn bravely on his own.

Cat, aged 48, was conspicuously missing from Monday’s service in County Down, Northern Ireland, with the sad reason behind her absence now coming to light.

Patrick, 54, grieved deeply as he bid a final goodbye to his dear mother, Mary Kielty, taking on the solemn duty of carrying her coffin to its resting place.

An outpouring of support was visible as hundreds gathered to pay their respects, lining the streets while friends and family joined for the rites held at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Dundrum.

Dressed in a grey suit, Patrick was among the pallbearers escorting his mother’s casket into the church.

When she passed away, she was said to be in her 80s, and an obituary paid tribute to her as a “loving mother” and “devoted grandmother,” deeply missed and affectionately remembered by family, neighbours, and friends. Mary was also the cherished mother to Patrick’s brothers, John and Cahal.

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Cat was regrettably absent from the 1pm service yesterday. The couple tied the knot in 2012 and have two sons together, Milo, nine, and James, six, reports the Mirror.

Cat stayed at home to support their young children as they dealt with the loss of a loved one. A representative shared with The Mirror: “Cat remained at home to be there for her two young children before and after school on this very sad day.”

Back in 1988, during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Patrick’s father Jack Keilty was tragically taken from them, which left Mary to single-handedly raise Patrick and his two siblings.

Despite Patrick and Cat having high-profile positions as television hosts, Mary preferred to keep a lower profile. In 2012, however, she made an exception and joined Patrick in carrying the Olympic torch in the lead-up to the London Games that year.

Patrick has been at the helm of programmes across ITV, the BBC, Channel 4, and America’s ABC. It wasn’t until 2023 that he secured a high-profile presenting role in Ireland, announced as the host of the Late Late Show.

On assuming the role, Patrick joked: “Mary Kielty is secretly delighted but not making any real public statements.”

Reinforcing his position as a true family man, Patrick divulged during a recent appearance at the Amgen Irish Open that despite his age, his mother still offers to do his laundry. He explained: “I think Irish mummies never really understand what age their youngsters actually are. So you do get a lot of offers like ‘Do you have any washing’ and I would be like ‘Well no, no that’s done, I’m 53 mum.”

Cat has been at the helm of This Morning since the previous year, following the exits of Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. Nonetheless, Cat has made it clear that she wouldn’t think twice about stepping down from her role on the enduring ITV daytime program if it started to take a toll on her well-being.

In a conversation with Grazia magazine, she expressed: “I don’t feel particularly vulnerable [taking over from Holly and Phil]. And I’d always think about my own mental health. If something was affecting me, or I hated going into work, I’d walk away. It’s more important that I enjoy what I do.”

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1