💔 “I KNOW IT’S TOO LATE TO SAY THIS…” — Vernon Kay Leaves Fans Emotional After Raw Radio 2 Moment

The Mirror said the pair are ‘keeping it classy’ with regard to their split – hence the posh fizz marking the finish of their time together.

Despite going their separate ways romantically, the couple are still living in the same property together and eager to mark the next steps in their lives.

A source close to the pair told the publication: ‘After they released the statement, Vernon and Tess took a moment to toast each other and their futures.

‘They only want the best for each other and their family. There has been no big fallout, more a gradual growing apart and wanting different things.

‘They have vowed to stay friends and to keep things classy when it comes to the split and any future interviews they give. They only want the best for each other.’

They started dating after meeting in 2001, with Vernon going on to pop the question the following year on Christmas Day.

Recalling their initial encounter, he told The Telegraph: ‘She didn’t know anyone except me because we’d worked together that day – she spotted me in a crowd and we had a laugh.

Now it has been claimed that Vernon and Tess posted the joint statement on Instagram while raising a champagne cheers in their joint mansion

Flashing a small smile, the star broke cover as he headed to the London studio following the news of the end of their 23-year long marriage

‘I was instantly attracted by how independent Tess was, and that’s not changed at all.’

The pair went on to get married in Horwich, near where Vernon grew up in Lancashire, the following September.

It comes after a source told the Daily Mail’s Katie Hind that the couple were living separate lives before their split.

They said: ‘Basically, without meaning to, they’ve been living separate lives. They don’t really do much together any more, they have different interests and hobbies.

‘They had grown apart. They acknowledged that and decided that life would be better if they were to split.’

On Friday, the pair released a joint statement, revealing that they had reached a mutual agreement to go their separate ways, though friends of the couple said they were both still at their marital home in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.

They started dating after meeting in 2001, with Vernon proposing the following year on Christmas Day (pictured during their younger days)

Vernon spent time with his daughter Phoebe over the weekend

The couple wrote: ‘After much consideration, and with a deep sense of care and respect for one another, we have made the decision to separate amicably.

‘This has not been an easy choice, but it comes from a place of mutual understanding and a shared desire of what is best for both of us.

‘We remain great friends and, most importantly, fully committed to our roles as loving and supportive parents, which will always be our priority.

‘There are no other parties involved in this decision. We kindly ask for privacy during this time.

‘We will not be making any further public comments.’

Tess and Vernon – thought to be worth around £10million – were last seen publicly together in February of this year when they hosted an episode of The One Show. They are also food ambassadors for Marks & Spencer.

Friends of the two, who met while presenting Top Of The Pops@Play together in 2001, were stunned to learn of the news.

One said: ‘When Vernon told me, I was stunned, I didn’t see it coming, nobody did. This is going to take some getting used to.’

But while it may have come as a surprise to outsiders, sources close to Tess and Vernon say they have spent a ‘significant’ amount of time coming to the decision.

Their two daughters, Phoebe, 21, and Amber, 16, were ‘completely involved’ in the conversations.

‘Tess and Vernon are actually really, really happy now,’ says a friend. ‘They’re still living together for now though that will of course change in the near future…

‘The girls were very much part of the decision. They had grown apart, they are different to when they first met…

‘They acknowledged that and decided life would be better if they were to split. They are both in their 50s, they have so much time left and they have decided they would be happier not being together so that’s what they’ve done. It is all very, very amicable.

‘They have lived through so much together, they have had so many happy times.

The couple announced their shock separation on Friday, admitting they had agonised over the decision but were determined to remain supportive parents to daughters Phoebe and Amber

‘They have had more than two decades of laughs and are extremely proud of their girls but they know splitting is for the best.’

Sources say there is no third party involved and it is understood that divorce lawyers are yet to be instructed but that the plan is to do so down the line.

The couple began dating back in the early 2000s when Tess hosted children’s show SMTV and Vernon was a model trying to make it as a television presenter.

They were widely regarded as a bubbly, carefree pairing – when they married at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Horwich they had a VW camper van as a wedding car.

They have been regarded as one of the strongest marriages in show business, despite Vernon being caught ‘sexting’ Page Three model Rhian Sugden in 2010.

Tess was devastated when she learned that Vernon had been messaging Rhian, 39, after meeting in a Bolton nightclub.