Loose Women Star Calls for Change Amid Heated Dispute Involving Her Husband trucc

It's not the first time former Loose panellist Carol McGiffin has defended the 22-year age gap between her and her husband Mark Cassidy, who she married in 2018

Ex Loose Women star Carol McGiffin has hit out at those who brand her a "cougar" and her husband "a toyboy". The 65-year-old has been with her second spouse Mark Cassidy, 43, for 17 years, after meeting him at a wrap party for the ITV show.

 
In her latest column with Best Magazine, Carol said she's "p****d off" that such "degrading" terms are still used when their relationship is discussed.

After discovering a recent article about the pair, she fumed: "He's not a toy and he's not a boy.

"The term is so derogatory, degrading even, because it infers that he is my plaything and nothing more which couldn't be further from the truth."

Carol went on to say that she hasn't seen other age-gap couples in the public eye be labelled in the same way.

Sharing one example, she claimed that Dame Joan Collins and her husband Percy, who are 35 years apart, are just referred to by their names.

Concluding her rant, she added: "We live in a time where no one is allowed to discriminate, or insult anyone in any way. Except when it comes to 'toyboys' and 'cougars'. Time to change."

It's not the first time Carol has defended her age-gap marriage.

After becoming engaged just months into their romance, the outspoken columnist said many believed it wouldn't last and urged her to get a “prenuptial agreement”.

She previously wrote: : “Mark and I were engaged very quickly, and some of my friends warned me to get a prenup.

“Obviously they were looking out for me, but at the time I thought, ‘How is it any of your business when I’m old and ugly enough to make my own judgements?’."

Carol went on to to clarify that she decided against a prenup, adding she would "dump him" if there was no trust.

Additionally, she claimed the contract "undermines the marriage" and "destroys any notion of trust".

While their engagement was swift, the pair didn't end up marrying until they were 10 years into their relationship.

They had originally planned to marry in January 2017, but cancelled it due to Carol's sister dying a few days before.

A year later, they secretly tied the knot in Bangkok, Thailand, with no loved ones present.

In 2019, Carol finally made the news public and showed off her ring during an episode of Loose Women.

"You get to a point where you think it's getting out of control, it's getting awkward, we can't tell anyone, we'll have to tell everyone. So we did tell everyone," she shared.

"I kept forgetting and wearing the ring, and I thought some day someone's going to catch us out, so we had to make sure that we told everyone rather than someone else breaking the news."