Vernon Kay shares family shift ‘we don’t want’ as relationship ‘changes’
Vernon, who shares two daughters with former Strictly host Tess Daly, noted that “your babies will always be your babies” and highlighted a terrifying scenario for parents
Vernon Kay has shed light on a family shift he and his wife “don’t want” (Image: Dave Benett/ Getty Images for Gi)
Vernon Kay has shed light on a family shift he and his wife “don’t want” as he admitted that the dynamic is “changing”. Vernon, who is married to former Strictly Come Dancing shared the insight as he reflected on the evolving nature of his relationship with their two children, Phoebe, 21, and Amber, 16.
The couple tied the knot at St Mary’s Church in Horwich in 2003 and live in Buckinghamshire with Amber, while Phoebe has moved Stateside to study in New York. Vernon and Tess, like many parents, have discussed their children striking out on their own and becoming “independent”, but it seems, deep down, they’re not quite ready for it.
Vernon said he’s had to work out how to “enter their world” — a world with certain “pitfalls” that he and Tess never had to face — including one particularly worrying modern phenomenon. In a recent interview, he explained that “your babies will always be your babies”, adding that today’s world comes with a nightmare issue of which they are “acutely aware”.
Vernon reflected on the evolving nature of his relationship with their two children (Image: Getty Images)
Vernon told The Times: “Now that Phoebe is 21 and Amber is nearly 17, our relationship with them is changing. We talk about encouraging them to leave the nest and be independent, but we don’t really want them to. You have to learn to enter their world and that world has pitfalls that just didn’t exist for us.
“When Phoebe started going out, we became acutely aware of drink spiking. I think that just didn’t happen in the Nineties.”
Last month, Phoebe took to TikTok to announce her move to the Big Apple; she was spotted dancing in her clip, which showed the New York skyline in the background, including the Empire State Building.
Vernon and Tess have discussed their kids striking out on their own and being “independent” (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images for EE)
She wrote: “NYC has my hearttt! Lucky to call it home for a while.” Earlier this year, her parents visited Phoebe, with Tess posting photos of the trip on Instagram, indulging in pancakes and taking in art galleries. Tess, who lived in New York herself in the 1990s, said: “I love NYC. Maximised every minute on a whirlwind half-term trip and fell in love with this magical city all over again.”
It comes after Vernon’s BBC Radio 2 co-star offered an apology to Tess during a recent broadcast. Apparently, Vernon has been suffering from a bad back and has been struggling to keep on top of household jobs. In the segment, he informed colleague Gary Davies about his intentions to visit a chiropractor and how he’d been “getting the garden ready”.
Vernon said he’s had to work out how to “enter their world” (Image: Getty Images)
Vernon said: “Chiropractor this afternoon… I think I’ll be a little bit better, but the thing is we’re pre-summer, aren’t we? So, at the moment, I’m getting the garden ready. Done a bit of lawn mowing and I’ve got a list as long as my arm of jobs to do, but I can’t do them with a bad back! I don’t want to get anyone in either.”
In response, Gary joked that it was a convenient excuse, to which Vernon replied: “to keep my feet up… and do absolutely nothing!” Gary said: “Sorry, Tess, sorry!”
In a further insight into the dynamic he shares with Tess, Vernon added: “She sent me a message this morning on the train, ‘Why is half the lawn done?’.”
He said today’s world comes with a nightmare issue of which they’re “acutely aware” (Image: Getty Images for the NTA’s)
Asked if he had shown Tess how to mow the lawn herself, Vernon remarked: “That’s my job — no, that’s my job. That’s my job, I love it. Put my headphones in and away we go!”
In other news, Vernon has shed light on a “horrendous” hidden struggle while presenting The One Show alongside regular host Alex Jones.
In a chat with Ellie Brennan on Radio 2, Vernon revealed how his stomach had started grumbling, saying: “Did you watch The One Show last night? Did you notice that Alex and I had the giggles? Just out the back of Watchdog. They take it very seriously at The One Show. It’s a consumer rights programme, so it’s very serious, and my tummy, because I hadn’t eaten lunch, decided to pop up and say hello.”
He went on to say: “I literally — and it’s the first time in, I’d say, 25 years, since I was working with June Sarpong — that I’ve done a live television link biting my lip to try to stop myself laughing as I’m introducing something really, really serious. It was horrendous.”
