Family Matters

She’s the consummate multitasker, an intrepid traveller and a dedicated mother. Jane Louey talks to Marianna Cerini about the important things in life, and how she’s passing her love of travel on to her children

- Jane Louey

Jane Louey doesn’t like to sit still. We’re in the living room of her multistorey mansion on The Peak, a drool worthy property that’s both sleekly decorated and charmingly warm, but the mother of three doesn’t seem interested in lounging on the sofa. Barefoot, in denim shorts and a casual white blouse, she dashes to the kitchen and has her staff bring me a coffee. Seconds later she takes a phone call, then rushes to the door to welcome home her husband, James, who joins us. Jane is pure energy—just as she was during our cover shoot, for which she played with goats, lay in the grass and cheerfully executed whatever requests the photographer threw her way.

“I’m a multitasker,” she laughs, “always looking for the next thing to get busy with. And I like a good challenge, whether it’s in my everyday life or during something different, like a photo shoot. Life’s too short to be prissy about it.” From the straight-forward, down-to-earth nature of our chat, it’s clear she means it. “I don’t like to play tai tai. It’s not in my character. I’m a straight-up, very positive person. James and my kids wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Her husband and children are the centre of Jane’s world. She and James have been married for 20 years and are, he tells me, best friends. The children—Jeremy, 17, Jacqueline, 13, and Jamie, 10—are their pride and joy and the figures around which life at the Loueys’ revolves. “Family. And I couldn’t be prouder of mine,” asserts Jane.