Richard Madeley reveals the simple secret to his 32-year marriage with Judy Finnigan

Richard Madeley Judy Finnegan
(Image credit: Jonathan Hordle/REX/Shutterstock)

As well as being one of the most popular presenting teams on TV, Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan also have one of the longest, most enduring marriages in showbiz.

And now, 62-year-old Richard has revealed some of the secrets behind their happy relationship - and they're actually pretty simple.

The GMB host revealed during a chat with The Sun on Sunday that during their decades-long union, he and Judy have never once come close to splitting, and it's all down to one "key" thing.

He revealed, "We’ve had our moments, and the occasional screaming, f***-you row, but it’s always been over something trivial.

"We've never had marriage counselling, and never ever so much as discussed divorce. There have been no crisis dinners, nothing. We respect each other, and that's the key."

During the interview, Richard also spoke candidly about the more intimate parts of his and Judy's life - revealing that he is "very happy" with the private time they spend together.

He confessed, "I've made it a rule never to talk about my sex life, but we have always shared a bed and we still share an en-suite bathroom. Having said that, I am very happy with my sex life."

Richard Madeley also admitted that he has a sweet rule for making sure he and Judy both get enough shut-eye at night too. He explained that he will often sleep in the spare room of their home to allow Judy to sleep if he is planning on waking up early.

"And I've never had to sleep on the couch. The only time I sleep in the spare room now is when I'm doing an early morning show and don't want to wake Judy up." How sweet!

Richard and Judy, 70, first met in 1982, whilst working on Granada TV. However, the couple were both married to different people at the time - Richard, was with Lynda Hooley, who he was married to for six years, while Judy was married to David Henshaw, with whom she had two sons, Tom and Dan. However, the pair soon split from their original partners, later marrying each other in 1986.

They then went on to host This Morning together for over 10 years, between 1988 and 2001, and welcomed their children, Jack, in 1986, and daughter Chloe, in 1987.

The couple recently marked their 32nd wedding anniversary - and we're sure it was a very happy celebration.

Amy Hunt

Amy Hunt is an experienced digital journalist specialising in homes, interiors and hobbies. She began her career working as the features assistant at woman&home magazine, before moving over to the digital side of the brand where she eventually became the Lifestyle Editor up until January 2022. Amy won the Digital Journalist of the Year award at the AOP Awards in 2019 for her work on womanandhome.com.