Simon Thomas marries Derrina Jebb three years after tragically losing his wife to leukaemia
SIMON Thomas has found happiness again after revealing he is married to partner Derrina Jebb.
Smiling from ear to ear alongside his beautiful bride, the former Blue Peter presenter was captured holding hands with Derrina in Norwich Cathedral.
Simon, 48, told his following that "love wins" as he shared the unexpected wedding day snap, with fans flocking to share their best wishes.
The TV host moved out of the house he shared with late wife Gemma, who died of leukaemia in 2017, earlier this year and into a home with Derrina.
The couple, who started dating each other in 2018 and fell quickly in love, did not announce an engagement before posting the new wedding snap.
Taking his following by surprise, the star, who is dad to Ethan, 10, from his previous marriage, confirmed that he and Derrina are newlyweds.
Posting the wedding picture to his Instagram page, Simon simply wrote alongside a white heart emoji: "Love. Wins."
The snap sees the couple walking hand-in-hand back down the aisle of an opulent church, as friends and family cheer from the pews.
Bride Derrina smiled wide for the snap, clutching a beautiful bouquet of pink and white flowers and donning an elegant wedding gown.
Meanwhile, Simon opted for a blue three-piece suit, opting to go without face masks, unlike their guests, to capture their happy moment in full.
In one snap, the happy bride and groom posed amongst friends, showing off Derrina's second dress of the day, complete with rhinestone detailing.
While in another, Ethan could be seen delivering a speech to the adoring friends and family sitting on the surrounding tables.
The ten-year-old stood on a chair in order to be seen from the back, and ready from a hand-written script into a mic being help up by a groomsman.
In the background, a projector showed pictures of Simon, Derrina and Ethan together on holiday.
Fans immediately flooded the comment section to congratulate the happy couple, as well as some of Simon's TV associates.
Former CBBC host Angelica Bell revealed she attended the ceremony, writing: "Thank you for letting us share your special day."
BBC Sport correspondent Natalie Pirks wrote: "Oh how beautiful, huge congrats to you both," while Eurosport presenter Orla Chennaoui also chimed in: "What wonderful news."
Sky presenter Sarah Jane Mae concluded of the sweet photo: "So lovely to see some happy news."
"So happy you found happiness in this new chapter of your life," one fan wrote, as a second agreed: "Congratulations to you and Ethan."
A third added: "What an awesome surprise! Congratulations to you both."
Simon and Derrina met in 2018 and have been together ever since, moving into a family home with Simon's son Ethan earlier this year.
The presenter wrote a sweet tribute to his then-girlfriend, calling her "incredible" for being "such a joy" in hard times.
"Yes at times its been really hard; but she has been selfless - dealing with her own struggles of feeling like she’s living in Gemma’s shadow, whilst investing so much time and energy into homeschooling Ethan and being such a joy to be around," he said of Derrina.
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The family celebrated Derrina's birthday together in May, building an igloo in the back garden for a one-of-a-kind party.
“You’re quite simply the absolute best. I’m so very blessed to be able to do life with you," he penned to his now-wife.
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In November 2017, Simon and Ethan were left heartbroken when his first wife Gemma suddenly died of acute myeloid leukaemia aged 40.
Simon, who admitted he considered taking his own life after the death, thanked his son and Derrina for "keeping him going".