Kate Ritchie beams as she takes her dog for a walk in Coogee after her romance with toy boy financial adviser Will Skelton is revealed and friends say they have already said the ‘L word’

Kate Ritchie took a relaxing stroll in Sydney on Saturday after her romance with Will Skelton came to light.

The 45-year-old former Home and Away star had the biggest smile on her face as she took her dog for a sunny walk in Coogee.

The actress kept warm in a gray sweater and black sweatpants as she enjoyed a cup of coffee while her dog ran through the park.

She completed her look with a pair of black sneakers and a navy cap. She carried a bag full of supplies.

Kate was seen carrying her bag and a picnic blanket, laying the items out on the grass as she watched her dog run around.

The outing comes just a day after Kate looked completely in love during a beachside picnic in Clovelly with her new man Will Skelton, 30, on Friday.

A friend told Ny Breaking Australia that the couple have already expressed their love for each other.

“She told him she loved him and he may have told her he loved her too,” they revealed.

Skelton is a ‘high-flying’ financial advisor for Canaccord Genuity, a financial services firm based in Sydney.

Will and Kate, who is 15 years his senior at 45, met at Nova FM’s Singles Ball in May.

“They’ve been spending almost every night together lately,” another source told Ny Breaking Australia on Friday.

“He’s told a lot of his colleagues. He just turned 30 in the last week,” the source added.

The couple couldn’t keep their hands off each other during their date on the beach, kissing and cuddling as they sat on a picnic blanket.

The actress seemed overjoyed to be in Will’s company, laughing heartily as the two chatted and joked happily.

Kate first saw Will when she attended Nova FM’s Singles Ball at Taronga Zoo in May.

The radio presenter looked half her age as she led the arrivals in an elegant yet shiny black minidress with a silver flower on the bust.

The single man she matched with that evening, now known as Skelton, ensured that Kate was completely caught up in her excitement.

The handsome man asked Kate to dance, which made her evening complete.

Kate, who split from her boyfriend Black late last year, looked completely in love as she hit the dance floor with him.

The radio star, who co-presents Fitzy & Wippa on Nova FM with Kate Ritchie, was previously approached by Will while holding a red rose.

The video of the romantic moment was shared on Fitzy & Wippa’s Instagram account with Kate Ritchie.

Kate’s budding romance comes after she ended her relationship with boyfriend Chevy Black, just months after they went official on Instagram in May 2023.

The couple, who often showed their affection in public in Coogee, are said to have split sometime in November.

An insider told New Idea magazine at the time that there was a telling sign that their relationship was over.

“It seems like he has no reason to hide his life anymore,” the source told the magazine.

“Until recently, Chevy preferred to keep his life private, with his social media set to private. He has now switched to a public Instagram profile,” they added.

Kate fueled rumors of a split at the time by posting a reflective Instagram post documenting how she was living her best life with a friend, which didn’t mention Black.

The couple seemed to be going from strength to strength after they announced their relationship in February 2023 with photos from a romantic picnic.

Kate later took her romance to the next level by introducing Chevy to her mother Heather and daughter Mae.

But by the end of that year, Kate was single again.

The former soap star split from her ex-husband, retired NRL player Stuart Webb, in 2020.

Ritchie married Webb in a lavish ceremony at the Quamby Estate in Tasmania in 2010, after a year-long engagement.

The former couple started dating in 2008 and announced their engagement a year later.

They split in 2020 after 10 years of marriage and the former child actress is said to have moved out of their marital home in Sydney.

In 2014 they had a daughter, Mae, but after nine years they separated.

The following year, in 2021, Kate debuted with her much younger boyfriend John Bell, who was 25 at the time.

The couple were spotted packing on the PDA as they holidayed in Byron Bay in January of that year.

The radio host and the cybersecurity worker went their separate ways after their romance ended a few months later.

“Kate is single. Lockdown is to blame,” a source told Ny Breaking Australia in December that year.

‘Kate and John haven’t seen each other since January, even though Victoria’s borders opened a few weeks ago.

“She never once said she wanted to visit him,” the source said at the time.

Kate grew up in front of an Australian television audience after first appearing as Sally Fletcher on Home and Away in 1988 at the age of nine.

She appeared on the program for the next 20 years, winning the Golden Logie for Most Popular Personality in 2007 and 2008 and the Silver Logie for Most Popular Actress from 2006 to 2008.

The actress can now be seen on Nova’s popular morning show, Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie.