Sara Cox is competing in the Great Northern Marathon Challenge for Children in Need(Image: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)
TV host and BBC Radio 2 presenter Sara Cox is the latest to participate in a significant challenge to raise funds for Children In Need. She’s lacing up her trainers for the Great Northern Marathon Challenge.
The challenge began on Monday, November 10, and sees her covering 135 miles on foot across four counties – Northumberland, Durham, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire – equivalent to five marathons over five days.
She’ll be running, jogging, and walking through the expansive moorland, steep ridges, and rolling hills of northern England, with the support of towns, villages, and Radio 2 listeners along the way.
Among those cheering on the 50-year-old, who also regularly hosts BBC One’s Morning Live, are her husband and three children. Sara, an animal lover from Bolton in Greater Manchester, resides in London with her family and their assortment of pets, including dogs and cats.
However, Sara – who pursued a modelling career before launching her broadcasting career with a presenting role on Channel 4’s The Girlie Show, followed by stints on MTV and The Big Breakfast – has experienced heartbreak, including a split from her first husband. Let’s delve into her relationships, reports Wales Online.
Sara is the latest famous face to be supporting Children in Need(Image: BBC)
Sara married DJ Jon Carter in October 2001 at a secret ceremony in North London.
They had one daughter together – Lola Anne – but they separated in 2005 after four years of marriage.
Sara has also opened up about her past “very unhappy relationship” with an ex-boyfriend at the start of her career.
In a candid interview with The Times in July 2024, she was asked about the worst home she had ever lived in. She responded: “I was in a very unhappy relationship when I first moved to London. I lived in Arnos Grove in Enfield, north London, in a converted church.
“I was with this person who turned out to be horrible and he stole from me. I felt emotionally stranded there. Then I binned him off and the MTV [from 1997] and Big Breakfast [from 1998] years began.”
Sara with ex-husband Jon Carter(Image: Mirrorpix)
Finding love again
After ending her first marriage, Sara found love again with advertising executive Ben Cyzer, with whom she shares two children – son Isaac and daughter Renee.
In an interview with the Daily Mirror after they met, she couldn’t hide her happiness about her new relationship: “I am very happy and smug and pleased and loved.
“I have a really good balance in my life. I have a lot of support and a brilliant other half. Me and Ben live together in our new, lovely home. He’s just brilliant – I go all pink and girlie.
“He’s a brilliant boyfriend. He’s very thoughtful and caring. He does so much for me but the things that mean the most are the little things.”
In June, Sara shared a series of photos on her official Instagram account from her holiday in Italy with Ben, celebrating 20 years since they met at Glastonbury. However, Ben prefers to stay out of the public eye and wasn’t featured in the images.
She shared: “Lake Garda/Bergamo/Lake Como. 20 years since we met at Glastonbury. 12 years married.”
Sara with Gethin Jones on Morning Live(Image: BBC)
Great Northern Marathon Challenge route
Sara’s Great Northern Marathon Challenge will involve her traversing 135 miles on foot across four counties – Northumberland, Durham, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire – a total of five marathons over five days.
Kicking off on Monday 10 November in the untamed splendour of Kielder Forest on the Scottish borders, Sara aims to conclude in Pudsey in Leeds on the afternoon of Friday 14 November – a symbolic journey transporting Pudsey from border to heartland.
