The past few years have been hugely challenging for Fern Britton, 64, in her personal life, but she’s no stranger to dusting herself off and getting on with whatever else life throws at her; a trait many will be envious of for sure. On a professional level, Fern has had a very successful career, having fronted many prime time TV shows over the years, such as Ready Steady Cook and ITV’s This Morning from 1999 to 2009.
But in a new interview, she admitted there have been roles she has been fired from, news that may come as a shock to fans of the national treasure.
Speaking about previous positions that didn’t work out, she said she’d had “plenty” of difficult moments amongst her success.
“I’ve been fired a couple of times from jobs,” she admitted.
“And I thought, ‘Hmm.’ But then it toughens you up.
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“The roughs in life make you much less precious about yourself, and that’s important.”
But she’s not afraid of change, having gone through a lot in the past three years.
“The last three years have been very hard,” she sighed.
“I lost my parents, I lost my marriage. I lost my other home in Buckinghamshire, too, because Phil [Vickery] lives there now and I’m in Cornwall.
“But the magic I’ve found here is incredible.”
Fern took to Twitter to announce the shock news in a statement that read: “After more than 20 happy years together, Phil and I have decided to go our separate ways.
“We will always share a great friendship and our lovely children.”
Fern is also mum to twins Harry and Jack, and daughter Grace from her first marriage to TV executive Clive Jones.
And after a year of being single, she has learnt a fair few things about being happy and doing what’s best for herself.
“Being wholly in charge of a situation and not having someone to discuss it with is a double-edged sword,” she explained to Good Housekeeping magazine.
“I can say, ‘Let’s blow up the house and build something else,’ and I don’t have to justify it, which is great. But it’s also a big decision – and I have to arrange everything myself!
“I’m not lonely but I’m in this transition period where I’m working out what’s next for me.
“My approach has always been, head down, keep going, and for the first time in my life, I’m thinking, ‘Hang on, where shall I go now?’ – and that’s quite nice. Suddenly, the world is my oyster.”
Read the full interview with Fern Britton in the September issue of Good Housekeeping, on sale the 28th of July. It is available in all supermarkets and online at MagsDirect.