Beloved TV personality and author Fern Britton has opened up about the emotional challenges she faces as a single woman in her 60s thinking about the possibility of finding love after her second marriage ended.
In a recent column she wrote for the Daily Mail, Fern reflected on what it feels like to be single again after three decades of married life.
She opened up about the end of her first marriage to Clive Jones, who she shares children Grace, Harry and Jack with. She reminisced: “When I had my daughter Grace, things weren’t great at home with my first husband, who had to cope with me being unhappy in a way he couldn’t possibly understand. He thought it was postnatal depression but I knew I was sad because our relationship was failing.”
Fern went on to discuss some of the difficulties she would face with a new relationship – and the former This Morning presenter didn’t shy away from personal details.
Fern admitted: “I have wrinkles, wobbly thighs and bosoms that I roll up like a Swiss roll to tuck them in my bra.
“Could I display all this to a new partner? I genuinely don’t know. Although I see it as an important part of my repowering, I find the prospect of a new relationship terrifying as well as tempting.”
Fern continued to joke about how her body looks now, saying it could “do with a good iron or perhaps even better a steam press”.
Her sense of humour seems to mask a genuine concern about the vulnerabilites of showing herself – wrinkles, wobbly bits and all – to someone new.
While she made it clear that she does not feel old, Fern admitted there have been surprising and even unpleasant aspects of aging.
Some of the changes she has faced include memory slips, aches and pains, and even an increased amount of body hair in unexpected areas.
While the presenter is happy she no longer has to shave her legs, she did confess that she now has “a superb moustache and beard”.
Observing these changes in her body and the way that affects Fern’s self-image may be part of the reason why the thought of being intimate with someone else now gives her pause.
Even if she does manage to get past her hang-ups and be intimate with someone new, after years of getting used to having her personal space, Fern wonders if she’s ready to share that with someone else again.
When imagining her ideal relationship, the Ready Set Cook host shared that she would love a “semi-detached relationship”.
This would mean both parties could enjoy each other’s company when they felt like it, while still having the option of retreating to the comfort of their own homes.
