Meet Sara Cox’s famous ex-husband before ‘smug’ marriage to partner Ben

BBC Radio 2 presenter Sara Cox has impressed listeners across the country this month after taking part in the Great Northern Marathon Challenge for Children in Need. The broadcaster, author and former model, 50, trekked more than 135 miles from Northumberland to West Yorkshire and raised over £10 million for charity.

While Sara is now happily married to advertising executive Ben Cyzer, many may not know she was previously married to a well-known figure in the music industry. Here’s a look at her first husband before her marriage to Ben.

Who is Sara Cox’s famous ex-husband?

Before meeting Ben, Sara was married to fellow DJ Jon Carter. The couple wed in a private ceremony in North London in 2001 and welcomed their daughter, Lola Anne, in 2004. They separated the following year after four years of marriage.

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Jon, 55, rose to prominence in the 1990s as a leading big beat DJ. However, he later stepped back from performing due to tinnitus and pivoted into business. In 2004, he co-founded 580 Limited, a company that operated several live music pubs. Four of these venues were later sold for a reported £10.4 million in 2014, according to The Standard. 

Who is Sara Cox married to now?

A year after her split from Jon, Sara found love again with advertising executive Ben Cyzer, whom she met at Glastonbury. Despite telling The Mirror in 2007, “I am never getting married”, the pair tied the knot in 2013 and now share two children, Isaac, 17, and Renee, 15.

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Reflecting on her relationship with Ben, whom she met at Glastonbury, Sara told the Daily Mirror in 2007: “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 this year, Sara exclusively told HELLO!: “I’m married to a very brilliant man who’s an excellent dad, and he also works from home in an office at the bottom of the garden. We’re a good team, and we get on really well. He makes me laugh – he’s nearly as funny as me.”

Sara Cox’s Children in Need challenge 

Sara made headlines this month after completing the Great Northern Marathon Challenge, which saw her walk the equivalent of five marathons across Northumberland, Durham, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire over five days.

Speaking to fellow Radio 2 host Scott Mills, Sarah admitted: “It’s just the hardest thing I’ve ever done – I’ve never known pain like it. But then, I’ve never had eye contact with so many amazing women who have just powered me on.

“On the side of the road, in the driving rain, it was bitterly cold. The truck drivers honking their horns, the farmers stopping work just to come and say hi. Thanks to everybody who let me stop for a wee at their house – it was a few people.”

Sara’s challenge will be shown in Sara Cox: Every Step of the Way for Children in Need, which airs on BBC One at 8pm on 19 November.