THIS Morning host Ben Shephard shared a loved-up snap with his rarely-seen wife Annie today as he celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary.
The Instagram throwback showed the ITV Daytime veteran looking fresh-faced as the pair cosied up outdoors and looked into the camera.
Ben, 51, wrote: “So 22 yrs ago today @mrsannieshephard said ‘oh go on then’ and that was that!
“It might have taken me 9 yrs to realise it and to ask her to marry me but she’s still the best thing to happen to me. Followed closely by Mark Noble (obvs) [hammers and love hearts emojis].”
Footy mad Ben is a diehard West Ham fan and Mark Noble was the club captain for seven years before hanging up his boots and becoming the Hammers’ sporting director.
His co-star Cat Deeley posted: “‘Oh go on then’ The Marvelous Mrs Sheps [two love heart emojis].”
Ben and Annie married in 2004 in Salcombe, Devon, before heading to idyllic Burgh Island for their honeymoon.
They found love as students at the University of Birmingham, long before Ben became a household name.
A year before the wedding, Ben popped the question in Paris on a rainy day at the Jardin du Palais Royal — nine years after they began dating.
Ben looked emotional in January as he reflected on fathering the grown-up pair.
He joked: “Well, I was thrilled to bits because he was down in Bristol with his brother so he wasn’t anywhere near us.”
But he became more sentimental when he said: “They had a big party, but it’s that moment where… a friend of ours messaged us saying that 19 years ago, Annie held Jack in her arms for the first time.
“It was quite a moment, like…’Wow, he’s got so big so fast!’”
On-screen Ben has taken on a harder line of questioning with celebrity guests in recent months, and it’s made their reps nervous.
Most recently it was Stacey Solomon who was blindsided when Ben probed about reported marriage woes between her and Joe Swash.
An insider said: “It’s This Morning, not Newsnight. Over the last six months, Ben has started to randomly take questioning down a far harder line.
“Very often, editors have agreed with key guests to avoid personal topics and keep chat work-related.
“That’s how the show continues to book great guests the viewers want to watch. But Ben has started to throw in a controversial, newsy question or two, and it’s left PRs nervous about placing their clients on the show.”
