Ryan Tubridy - Personal Life

Personal Life

Tubridy met his wife, the producer Anne Marie Power at RTÉ in 1997 when he spotted her in a recording studio. He later spoke of the moment they met:

She was going in to make a programme, I was going out. My head turned and my life changed. I pursued her relentlessly. She used to sashay down the corridor and I was quite taken by her. She was very erudite and she made documentaries on flamenco. She was much brighter than I am and continues to be, which isn't that hard really if you dig deep enough, and I asked her out.

The couple had a daughter, Ella, and later married in 2003. Tubridy proposed in the Abbeyglen Hotel (a "favourite haunt" of his) in Clifden, County Galway. The engagement was announced in The Irish Times with the words "Ella Tubridy is delighted to announce the engagement of her parents Ryan and Anne Marie". Tubridy and Power separated in 2006. They have two children, Ella and Julia. He

“You didn't ask permission. You didn't think about the consequences. You didn't care about the person I was with and their family, you didn't care about anything, you just cared about yourself and a grubby little cheque, and that's not right... have a bit of respect, or human decency.”

Whilst host of Tubridy Tonight, the presenter spoke of the public's perception of him:

"I think I am a victim of my own image. I think it's been cultivated by others for me. I live in a very ordinary semi-detached house. People only ever see me on a Saturday night on TV and I'm in a smart suit with a book-lined backdrop so that's what they think - you're Johnny smart suit with a book-lined backdrop."

Referring to the type of woman he would like, Tubridy said:

"I like intelligence, I like a good conversation. I like elegance, I like a girl who is feminine without being vain, I like a little retro in terms of fashion and look and sprinkle it with a little sense of humour. I also love a girl who appreciates darkness. I'm a lot darker than people think - plenty of dark humour."

Tubridy is/was involved with Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, a presenter of radio and television. He expressed his dissatisfaction when photos of the couple on a stroll at Powerscourt Waterfall were used by the press and was frustrated by subsequent claims that the photos were a publicity stunt. He later told the Evening Herald (in the week approaching his début as host of The Late Late Show) that Ní Shúilleabháin was "great support" and had transformed his life. In 2010 he told the same newspaper she was "my rock" since the death of friend and colleague Gerry Ryan.