WE'RE NOT SISTERS I'M HER MUM!

Jacqueline Hooton, 61, is determined to prove that age is just a number

- HADLEY MIDDLETON

Scrolling through the comments online, I couldn’t help but laugh. It was February 2024, and my daughter Saffron, 25, had helped me produce another video to share with my half a million Instagram followers. Dressed in matching lilac workout gear, we laughed about the comparisons we were always receiving. ‘We are mother and daughter, but who’s who?’ we teased in unison. Within an hour of posting the video, hundreds of familiar comments came flooding in.

‘You’re not fooling anyone with the mother and daughter riddle, we all suspect you’re sisters!’ a fan commented. ‘You must be twins!’ another said.

It’s pretty perplexing that in my seventh decade people are saying that I look good enough to be my daughter’s twin – especially as there are 36 years between us. But I can honestly say that as a woman in her 60s, I feel stronger and healthier than I did in my 20s.

I’ve had five children and I’m a grandmother of three, but I’m also an age-positive role model who can squat and lunge, and dead lift more than double my body weight. It may surprise some people to see an active grandmother who feels confident dressing in cowboy boots, denim shorts or a bikini, but why should I let other people dictate what I can and can’t wear?

My attitude towards fitness started to form after I gave birth to my first child, Tobias, in September 1989. I had always been active, but I realised that his ability to thrive depended on me. I wanted to be as fit and well as I possibly could be, so while Tobias slept and my husband Chris worked, I would follow actor Jane Fonda’s home workout videos.