MARLENE Howes’ passion for cats has frequently placed her in the media spotlight.

It has also, unexpectedly, reunited her with the love of her life.

Marlene, of Whitecroft, first married Trevor Howes in 1968 in Bristol when both were living and working in the city. A decade later they had gone their separate ways.

But 40 years on, aged 72 and 82 respectively, they remarried this week at Usk Register Office.

Trevor, a retired university professor, got back in touch three years ago after seeing Marlene on a TV programme entitled The Woman With 40 Cats.

“I was really surprised, and a bit hesitant about meeting up with him at first but he eventually persuaded me to have dinner at a restaurant near Raglan and it went from there,” she explained.

“I never stopped loving him. I think we should have been together all these years but there were various reasons why it didn’t work out. He was always really clever and had so much going on in his life back then but he’s different now - much more relaxed. We’ve agreed to forget the past. I want to make him happy for the rest of his life.”

After they married he became a lecturer at the university and the couple moved across the Severn Bridge to Whitelye near Catbrook where Marlene was keen to breed horses.

When the marriage ran into difficulties she moved out of the family home with the children, Juliet and James. For years after that she was kept busy taking them to show jumping competitions and pony club events.

She also built up a reputation for breeding award-winning pedigree Persian cats. One of the most successful was a tortoiseshell called Sugar and Spice, who is still a much-loved family pet.

In the meantime Trevor remarried and went on to spend ten years at the University of Connecticut in the USA, as Professor of Mechanical Engineering, before retiring to the UK.

A few years ago, by then a widower, he saw Marlene and her cats on the Channel 5 show Pet Hoarders and decided to call her. Having eventually persuaded her to join him for a meal, with a little help from their daughter Juliet, they started seeing each other on a regular basis.

“He proposed at Christmas but I was evasive then he proposed again at Easter, over the phone. He said he was down on one knee.” said Marlene.

At their wedding this week were the bridesmaids and best man from their first marriage - Marlene’s cousins Janette and Gillian, and Trevor’s lifelong friend David Windsor. The guests also included Gillian’s 89-year-old mum Jeanne, who had made them a beautiful wedding cake.

Trevor now lives in the house at Whitelye that was their home for a while during their first marriage. Before Marlene can move in, however, there’s one important matter to resolve – providing suitable accommodation for numerous, rather particular Persians…