Dermot O’Leary and Dee Koppang O’Leary (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Netflix)
Dermot O’Leary is celebrating 12 years of marriage to his wife Dee Koppang – and the pair have managed to keep their personal lives out of the public eye.
This Morning star Dermot tied the knot in September 2012 and recently shared a rare snap of the couple’s big day to mark their anniversary.
The picture from their wedding captured the couple dancing along to a live band at the evening reception, looking like the image of newlywedded bliss.
Posting the photo on his Instagram, Dermot, 51, wrote: “12 years!” followed by a red love-heart emoji. Fellow stars shared their messages of congratulations, with This Morning co-star Alison Hammond writing: “Congratulations”, and All Saints singer Nicole Appleton adding: “Omgoodness! Happy Anniversary.”
Dermot and Dee were married in a service at St. Mary’s Church Chiddingstone, Kent, with the bride wearing a classy silk gown lined with lace detailing. The evening party was held at nearby Chiddingstone Castle.
Dermot O’Leary and Dee Koppang O’Leary (Image: Photo by Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage)
A number of celebrity pals were in attendance at the wedding, including Holly Willoughby, James Corden and Bear Grylls.
The pair have kept their personal life private, and avoided the public eye for much of their 12-year marriage.
Dermot has previously spoken about their relationship. Addressing supporters during a QandA, he divulged his recipe for marital success.
He said: “No marriage is perfect. From the start we gave each other a lot of slack and compromised.”
Dee Koppang O’Leary and Dermot O’Leary attend Royal Ascot (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Royal Ascot)
“This person’s your best friend. Try not to give them a hard time. It’s down to letting someone still have an active life individually. It’s about being there when you need to be there.”
The pair met while they were both working in the T industry in the early 2000s, and Dermot popped the question in 2011 on a romantic break to New York.
The couple share one son, Kasper, who was born in June 2020. Sharing the news of his son’s birth, proud dad Dermot shared: “Welcome to the world baby Koppang O’Leary. We’re delighted to announce that we’ve had a baby!”
“Enjoying the cuddles in the newborn bubble… cats yet to be 100% convinced. Lots of love, Dermot and Dee x.”
Dermot previously told The Sunday Times : “Having a child has changed what I want from life and what makes me happy. Do I need another car? The latest gadget? A bit of vintage Van Morrison vinyl? No, forget the material stuff.”
“What I want is to be with the people I love!” He added sadly: “Dee’s work means that we’re not always together but, those evenings when we are, we make the most of spending proper time together as a family. I can’t understand those parents who don’t enjoy changing nappies or crawling around on the carpet pretending to be a racing car. Isn’t that the absolute joy of being a parent?”
Dee, 46, also works in TV as well as in the film industry – but unlike husband Dermot, her life is firmly behind the camera.
She has worked as a unit director on major Netflix productions including The Crown and Bridgerton.
Dermot and his film producer wife Dee Koppang O’Leary (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Her lengthy CV also includes work on BBC drama The Split. Speaking about sharing directing duties with writer Abi Morgan on the popular BBC One series, which ended after it’s third series back in 2022, Dee explained: “It was wonderful because it felt like my directorial debut as well, as I come from a second-unit background. The Split was my first time as lead director, so the first time I was in charge of a whole episode, let alone a series. No pressure!”
Dee and Dermot also found themselves working together on The Split, with Dee sharing that her husband has a “tiny cameo” in the series.
Dee explained: “You never want it to feel nepotistic, but it was scripted that one of the characters is interviewed on a breakfast TV show, and it was one of those funny things where I felt it’d be so weird to get someone else! So I said, ‘I might have someone I know who’d be up for this!'”
“Dermot is such a huge fan of The Split anyway, he was so over-excited to be part of it. I recently got to show him his section – and I mean it’s a tiny cameo – but he was very excited. We’ve got some really good cameos this season, from Lily Cole to Tom Rhys Harries to Lindsay Duncan, it’s amazing!”
Dermot O’Leary and wife Dee Koppang arriving at St Michael’s church, Heckfield in Hampshire, for the wedding of Anthony McPartlin to Anne-Marie Corbett. (Image: Kirsty O’Connor/PA Wire)
Outside of her impressive work in film and TV, Dee helped produce and direct the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show since 2009, and was also involved in the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony in London.
Dee’s incredible career was built on hard work, with her telling Directors UK: “I was a runner, coordinator, researcher, AP, Shooting AP, DV Director, PD, series director etc. I spent the next 15 years working my way up in the exciting worlds of music shows, observational documentaries, live breakfast TV, and reality shows like Big Brother and Shipwrecked.”
Since starting as a runner, she has worked with some huge showbiz names, directing documentaries about Justin Bieber’s world tour, and working with other big name stars including Rihanna and Lady Gaga.
