Patrick Kielty has had an extraordinarily tough year, but opening up about the breakdown of his marriage and the loss of his mum for the first time, he reveals he doesn’t see it that way.

Patrick and his ex-wife Cat Deeley announced their separation in July 2025 after 13 years of marriage, just four months after his beloved mum Mary passed away.

Despite the heartbreak the Late Late Show star endured over the past year, he insists that he is lucky for all that he does have, his two sons, 10-year-old Milo and James, who is seven.

Cat Pat 9Pic: FOX/FOX Image Collection via Getty Images

Speaking about the tough events for the first time, Patrick told the Irish Independent that it is simply part of ‘the ebb and flow of life.’

The TV presenter is no stranger to trauma, having lost his father when he was just a teenager, after he was murdered by a loyalist gang. However, Patrick manages to take hardship in his stride, saying he ‘finds that is life.’

File photo dated 07/06/12 of Patrick Kielty holding the Torch with his mother Mary before he completes his leg through his hometown of Dundrum on Day 20 of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay. The funeral of Mary Kielty who died on March 8, is taking place at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Dundrum. Picture date: Monday March 10, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story FUNERAL Kielty. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA WirePatrick Kielty with his mum Mary Kielty. Pic: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

He explains that the tide comes in and out. ‘So I wouldn’t file that [his father’s murder, his mother’s death, divorce from Deeley] as sh*t. I would file that as the tapestry of life. Touch wood, I’m healthy, and my kids are healthy.’

Patrick relishes being a dad to his two boys, explaining that the real joy is in the small stuff. ‘Just being there,’ as Patrick puts it.

Patrick Kielty, host of the RTÉ The Late Late Show. Pic: andres PovedaPatrick Kielty, host of the RTÉ The Late Late Show. Pic: andres Poveda

‘That thing of being able to do school runs, to be able to bring the guys to sport, being able to hang with them, being able to enjoy it and being able to sort of steer them in their lives,’ he told the outlet.

He takes a certain comfort in hoping that his sons will be with him until the very end. While he lost his dad at just sixteen, Patrick finds solace in the fact that he was able to bury him, just as he hopes Milo and James will for him.

‘I’ve been lucky enough to have kids. I lost my dad when I was young, but I buried my father; I buried my mother. That’s the natural flow of life. I’ve got kids. Hopefully they will bury me. I think that puts a perspective on life – the joy that they bring you,’ he explained.