The last time The Chase star Mark Labbett was pictured with Hayley Palmer as she confirms their shock split

THE Chase’s Mark Labbett cuddled into his girlfriend Hayley Palmer on the exact beach where they became an item for their final photo together.

Hayley, 42, has today confirmed the end of her relationship with 58-year-old Mark, but just one week ago they were all smiles on Southsea beach.

The couple had travelled to the Hampshire coastline for their first anniversary and visited a bench close to their hearts.

It was where 6ft 7ins-tall Mark and Hayley had sat when they first admitted they had romantic feelings for each other.

Sharing a seemingly loved-up picture of himself on the shingle with Hayley, Mark told his Instagram followers: “One Year Anniversary. Same beach, same bench :).”

One of his followers gushed: “Beautiful couple❤️, so glad you’re so happy xxx.”

Another added: “Happy Anniversary to you both. ❤️ you guys are so cute together and it’s so lovely to see how happy you both make each other xx.” 

And a third had penned: “🙌Couple goals🙌 you look so good together.”

But sadly for their supporters, the apparently rock-solid relationship was already doomed.

Hayley, who works as an entertainment journalist for Sky, confirmed on her own Instagram account today: “It is with regret I announce that myself and Mark have gone our separate ways.

“We had the best year together and I truly wish him all the best for the future.”

She ended the messaged: “Off I go to listen to Taylor Swift.”

Mark – aka The Beast – had only spoken about his anniversary plans with Hayley earlier this month.

The Chase brainbox told The Sun how he hoped to whisk her to a Beefeater once they had visited their special bench.

He said: “We found a bench in a peaceful spot by the beach and spent hours talking and getting to know each other, so we’ve decided to go back to celebrate our anniversary.

“As luck would have it, there’s a rather nice Beefeater near to where her parents live. They already know Hayley’s order — nachos and chips.”

The couple had also squeezed in an interview on Loose Women 11 days ago.

But the writing was already on the wall, as Mark and Hayley admitted to struggling with their long distant relationship.

Mark lives in Rotherham in Sheffield, and Hayley in London, meaning they had to consult their diaries in order to see each other.

“Because we live quite a bit apart, I live up in Sheffield and she’s a Chelsea girl, we tend to look at our diaries and see when we can sync up together,” Mark told the ITV1 show’s panel.

“The good news is we see each other every few weeks and we make the most of it when we are together.”

Hayley added: “We get excited when we see each other, which is really nice. We don’t see each other and then we really look forward to coming together and no sharing our chips.”

Mark is yet to make a public comment about the break up.