‘THINGS ARE PAINFUL AND THINGS HURT BUT I'M OKAY'

FERN BRITTON OPENS UP TO OK! ABOUT THE SPLIT THAT NOONE SAW COMING AND EXPLAINS WHY ROMANCE IS NOT SOMETHINGS HE’S LOOKING FOR IN THE FUTURE

- KAT ROMERO

Fern Britton was half of one of TV’s golden couples with chef Phil Vickery. The pair fell in love on This Morning and tied the knot in 2000, welcoming daughter Winnie a year later. To the outside world, they seemed to have the perfect marriage.

But back in January, Fern and Phil stunned us all when they announced they were separating after 20 years of marriage. “Over time, we realised we weren’t necessarily having the kind of life we once did. It seemed right to say thank you and move on,” she confessed, admitting that it was time for them both to follow their own paths.

Fern’s path into lockdown perhaps wasn’t quite what she had in mind as she came to terms with the breakdown of her marriage. But when we catch up with her as she isolates at her Cornish home with daughter Winnie and her daughter Grace, 23, from her first marriage to Clive Jones, we’re struck by her sheer resilience and strength.

The 62-year-old tells us that the time spent alone has been a great opportunity to reflect. “I viewed it as a gift for me. To sort my head out and think through everything that’s happened to me and relax,” she explains. “I think we all have elements of loneliness. I’m living with my two daughters so I’m not physically lonely, but sometimes you get a bit lonely in the brainbox. I miss being with people my age, for a start. My girls are great and they keep me young, but on the other hand, it’s very nice to sit down with an old friend and just discuss the arthritis in your knee!”