Alongside the thousands of congratulatory messages that the news of Carol Kirkwood’s engagement to a mystery man has brought, there’s more than a few from fans who admit they’re absolutely ‘gutted’ that the TV weather star , who once starred in Strictly Come Dancing, is waltzing down the aisle.
BBC Breakfast host Carol, 59, announced the happy news via an impressive sparkler on her wedding ring finger during the 7:50am weather bulletin from the Chelsea Flower Show yesterday.
The smiling presenter told the show’s hosts, Sally Nugent and Jon Kay, that she’ll marry her long-term partner following a recent romantic picnic proposal.
And while there’s been plenty of speculation over who the lucky groom-to-be might be – the presenter has remained tight-lipped about his identity, a source for the star confirmed to MailOnline that a man she was photographed hand-in-hand stocking up at the supermarket last year with is indeed her new Mr Right.
What isn’t in doubt is the passionate fan following that Carol has built up during her nearly 25 years of charming the nation on BBC Breakfast – with many forlorn followers declaring her new love ‘a very, very lucky man’ and one bereft fan admitting: ‘I thought she’d marry me’.
And female admirers are obsessed with her wardrobe, including a carousel of colourful close-fitting dresses and the occasional shower-proof anorak, which she regularly shares images of on her Instagram feed – always with a weather-themed backdrop. Over on Twitter, more than 230,000 follow her chirpy updates.
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Sunshine of her life! The BBC Breakfast star revealed this week that she’s set to wed her long-term boyfriend, who she once called ‘the best thing to happen to men’ A source told MailOnline confirmed the groom-to-be is the one who was photographed with her last year after the shopping trip (pictured) close to her Berkshire home
The vivacious meteorological presenter, who’s the main weather anchor on BBC Breakfast, looks more radiant than she ever has – a poster girl for living the good life in middle age – with her career still flourishing as she heads for her 60th birthday
A beaming Carol Kirkwood couldn’t hide her excitement on Monday as BBC Breakfast presenters Sally Nugent and Jon Kay helped her to share the good news with viewers
The Scottish weather presenter, 59, announced her engagement on Monday as she chatted to BBC Breakfast hosts Sally Nugent and Jon Kay while she broadcast live from the Chelsea Flower Show
After her divorce from her first husband, Northern Irish cricket star Jimmy Kirkwood, she admitted to having a new lease of life, saying: ‘I’m braver now’ and going on to star in Strictly Come Dancing in 2015 (pictured with Pasha Kovalev)
Kirkwood has a huge female fanbase too, with the weather presenter regularly sharing images of the clothes she wears on Instagram, including a carousel of colourful close-fitting dresses and the occasional shower-proof anorak
All would agree that her permanently sunny disposition, whatever the English weather is throwing at the nation, has made her a huge fan favourite – not an easy task on a breakfast show where viewers are the harshest of critics and some of her fellow presenters have suffered abuse online.
The occasional innuendo – including the time she referred to a ‘fine piece of wood’ on Woolwich Pier in 2017, leaving viewers tittering – has seen her grab the headlines. A true professional ready for any weather event, she’s also powered on through some embarrassing moments on live TV, including being hauled to the ground by a guide dog at last year’s Chelsea Flower Show, and seeing her dress disappear when she clashed with a green screen in 2019.
Indeed, the vivacious meteorological presenter, who’s currently the main weather anchor on BBC Breakfast, looks more radiant than she ever has – a poster girl for living the good life in middle age – with her career still flourishing as she heads for her 60th birthday.
The presenter, who was born in Inverness-shire to hotelier parents and has seven brothers and sisters, hasn’t always been so lucky in love though.
Her first marriage to Northern Irish cricket star Jimmy Kirkwood in the 90s ended in divorce – and while Carol, a graduate of Edinburgh University, hasn’t poured forth on why the marriage broke down, she has frequently alluded to feeling ‘freer’ without a wedding ring on.
Kirkwood was dragged to the floor by a guide dog during live weather report from Chelsea Flower Show in 2021. Right: The dawn broadcast ended in giggles as the host fell flat on her face
The star was flooded with congratulatory messages following the news of her engagement – however, many fans admitted they were ‘gutted’ the star was no longer available, with one saying: ‘I thought she’d marry me’.
Carol was married to Jimmy Calderwood, a former cricketer, for 18 years until they split up in 2008; speaking about the freedom she felt following their break-up, the star, pictured at Wimbledon with her ex husband, admitted she would never have said yes to appearing on Strictly Come Dancing when she was married
Fresh-faced: A photo the presenter shared on BBC Breakfast of herself in her twenties, Kirkwood walked away from her television career after getting married to Jimmy Kirkwood but would later return to the BBC
The one-time couple met and married in their twenties and Carol, who’d forged out a promising television career with the BBC, presenting short slots on TV and radio channels, left television to pursue a career in recruitment, before taking on a role as a training consultant.
The marriage floundered and a newly-single Carol embraced the single life in middle age – including saying yes to a stint on Strictly Come Dancing, where she jived, waltzed and cha-cha-ed her way through the high profile BBC One show with pro dancer Pasha Kovalev by her side.
She admitted that she was ‘braver’ following her divorce and would never have gone on the show while she was married.
At the time, she told the Sun: ‘I was married for a long time and I got married quite young so it’s nice doing things I have the freedom to do now.’
This week, the smiling presenter, pictured during a chilly broadcast, told the show that she’ll walk down the aisle with her long-term partner following the picnic proposal
The roving weather reporter has been sent across the UK during her role as main weather presenter, with fans frequently praising her cheerful delivery of forecasts (Pictured at Wimbledon)
SO, WHO IS THE MYSTERY MAN THE PRESENTER ONCE SAID IS THE ‘BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO MEN’
Earlier this year, Carol Kirkwood beamed with excitement as she lovingly held a mystery man’s hand – just months before announcing her engagement live on TV but failed to disclose her fiancé’s identity.
Carol has previously said she and her partner have both agreed to keep their relationship private, but gushed that he is the ‘best thing that’s ever happened to me’
The gushing couple were seen wandering around the aisles of a supermarket as they stocked up on essentials and were then pictured sharing a laugh and a joke as they sat in car to make their way home.
A source told MailOnline that Carol is still with the man she was photographed with last year after the shopping trip close to her Berkshire home and that he is the one she is about to tie the knot with.
The source said: ‘They’ve been an item for quite a while and are still together. He spends a lot of time at Carol’s lovely home by the River Thames. She’s gone to great lengths to keep details about him a secret, but it won’t stay that way for long. It’s just a matter of time before we know more about him.
‘They looked very much in love even though they were only shopping in a supermarket and made a lovely couple.’
Do you know who Carol’s fiance is? Email: [email protected]
Carol has always praised the single life, telling the Irish Times last year that she was ‘quite happy’ going solo and enjoying spending time with close friends in the upmarket village of Bray in Berkshire, home to Heston Blumenthal Michelin-star eatery The Fat Duck.
She said of her time as a single lady: ‘I didn’t do any online dating at all. I was quite happy being single. I met people either through friends or work or other functions.
The weather star continued: ‘I only had a couple of boyfriends after I got divorced.
‘Seems strange calling them ‘boyfriends’ at my age. But I was never looking for anybody, because I was content and enjoying my life as it was.’
The messages pouring forth on social media after the BBC published a clip of presenters Jon Kay and Sally Nugent offering their congratulations were universally positive, although more than a few male fans expressed their heartbreak that Carol is officially unavailable.
@theseanaj_ wrote: ‘Absolutely gutted that I missed my chance that @carolkirkwood is now engaged!!!’
@steve45910 added: ‘You’re a dark horse Carol Kirkwood!! Really pleased for you, you’re beautiful and you deserve it so congratulations. Am a little gutted tho, thought you’d marry me one day.’
@dazzer1972 gushed: ‘What a kind and gorgeous lady you are and I can’t imagine a luckier person right now then your partner. Congratulations.’