Comedian Katherine Ryan’s romance with her now-husband Bobby Kootstra dates back way further than their five-year marriage, with the childhood sweethearts having first loved and lost each other as teens
Katherine Ryan is best known for making people laugh, from her stand-up shows to sitcoms such as The Duchess.
Fans may not realise however that the acerbic comedian also has a strong romantic streak – with her relationship being rooted in a love story straight out of a rom-com. The 40-year-old mother-of-three has been in a civil partnership with fellow Canadian Bobby Kootstra, since December 2019, with the pair opting to conduct their ceremony in Denmark.
Eschewing the traditional white wedding gown, Katherine wore a simple yet elegant mint green midi dress, accessorised with a pretty pearl headband. In snaps shared via Instagram, the newlyweds appeared the picture of happiness as they celebrated in the beautiful city of Copenhagen, posing outside the five-star Nimb Hotel, and the iconic amusement park, Tivoli Gardens.
Their journey to married bliss has been a long one, however, and the former childhood sweethearts may never have crossed paths again if it hadn’t have been for one long-running BBC show…
Teenage heartbreak and reconciliation
Katherine and Bobby fell for each other as high school students but went their separate ways as quarterback Bobby wanted to instead focus on his burgeoning American football career. In the years that followed, Katherine earned a reputation as an independent woman who didn’t need a man in her life to be happy. As she once quipped in her stand-up show Glitter Room: “I love men, but I feel they are like dolphins in that they are best enjoyed while on holiday.”
There was however one ex who always had her heart, and when their paths collided once more, it seemed destined to be. In 2018, Katherine participated in an episode of the ancestry show Who Do You Think You Are? which saw her head back to Canada to explore her family’s history.
While in a pub in Ontario, Katherine ran into her old flame Bobby, two decades after they’d parted ways, and sparks began flying all over again. Passion reignited at lightning speed, Bobby visited Katherine in London mere weeks after her trip, and, just eight months later, they committed themselves to each other in their civil partnership ceremony.
Speaking with The Sun, Katherine shared: “Magically my high school boyfriend walked into my life and I did everything possible not to marry him. I really was against partnership at that point. I was looking forward to ageing alone with many dogs. And then I just loved him too much. It’s funny that fate has a way of finding you and what’s meant for you won’t pass you.”
The couple have had to contend with some scrutiny, however, with some claiming Bobby had only returned to Katherine because of her incredible success. With her usual wit, Katherine addressed the criticism during an interview with Louis Theroux, explaining: “Like, if it’s fun for people to believe that Bobby’s only using me for money and I’ve had loads of plastic surgery and this and that, then that’s great that I know that and can use that because my job is to make them laugh.”
Although they’ve both come a long way since their school days, it’s clear Katherine still holds a lot of affection for the kids they once were. In an interview with the Mail Online in 2021, the smitten comic revealed: “I don’t think I am necessarily a very romantic person, but I do romantic things — I took all the letters Bobby and I wrote to one another when we were kids and had them made into a blanket for our first anniversary. I know it’s really cringe, but I’m so glad I kept them all.”
Bedroom rule
As loved up as the pair may be, as parents of young children, intimacy has had to take a backseat for Katherine and Bobby when it comes to sleeping arrangements. Opening up in the five-part W series Katherine Ryan: Parental Guidance, Katherine confessed that she and Bobby no longer sleep in the same bedroom – instead prioritising youngest children Fenna, one, and Fred, two.
Katherine, who is also mum to 14-year-old Violet, said: “We’re both co-sleeping with someone. Bobby sleeps with Fred because I’m sleeping with Fenna. It’s really good for the children to have that.”
As explained by Bobby, the four of them had previously tried sleeping in the same room, however, Fred and Fenna kept on waking each other up though. According to Bobby: “Katherine and I co-sleep. I like to call it ‘man-to-man defence’. We did try to have everyone in the same room but the babies were kind of waking each other up, so we had to switch to separate rooms, which is a bit better but also I do kind of miss sleeping with my sexy wife.”
He added: “It’s probably not been great for our intimacy. So we kind of are missing a couple of different important connections I think for any relationship really.” Addressing Bobby in one scene, Katherine admitted: “I miss sleeping with you, I do”, to which he offered the suggestion they change their sleeping arrangement after two more years – unless, of course, more little ones arrive.
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