'Oh hang on, they’re actually manipulating me...' Fern Britton regrets handing 'power' to 'partners, bosses and colleagues'
Fern Britton regrets not being a stronger person when she was younger and handing over "power to partners, bosses and colleagues".
Fern Britton regrets letting past partners and work colleagues "manipulate" her.
As the 67-year-old TV presenter - who famously co-hosted ITV1's This Morning with Phillip Schofield, 63, from 2002 until 2009 - has got older, she kicks herself for "foolishly" giving "power" to her former lovers, including ex-husbands, TV executive Clive Jones and TV chef Phil Vickery, as well as those Fern has worked with throughout her illustrious career in show business.
Asked how the author has changed as she has got older in an interview with Saga magazine, Fern said: "I always thought everything would be all right.
"Although that’s not changed, I think I understand myself a bit better now and can look back and see that I foolishly handed power to partners, bosses and colleagues, because I’m very easy-going and I never used to see around the corner and think, ‘Oh hang on, they’re actually manipulating me.'
Fern divorced Clive, 76, which was finalised in 2000 following their split in 1998 after 10 years of marriage, and split from Phil, 64, in 2020.
However, the Celebrity Big Brother 2024 housemate is open to dating again.
Asked if she would look for Mr. Right again, Fern revealed: "I’m not averse to it but they’d have to be spectacular.
"They have to make me laugh, they must be kind, and they must be honest."
Fern - who has 31-year-old twin sons named Jack and Harry, and a 27-year-old daughter called Grace with Clive, as well as a 23-year-old daughter named Winnie with Phil - thinks it is tricky for people to find relationships these days.
The Sunday Times bestselling author - who explores relationships in her new novel A Cornish Legacy - explained: "I’ve got very interested in how complicated it is for young people dating. Grace has a lovely partner, but Winnie is single, and while she’s a very attractive girl, it all seems so difficult now.
"In the '70s a man would just come and say, ‘Oh, do you want to go out?’ and you’d reply, ‘Yes, thank you’. Now it seems they’re all giving each other therapy about someone they’ve been seeing for ten days.
"I was intrigued about how these relationships work and wanted to explore that a bit."
And Fern has found happiness by going to church and helping to make drinks and food during the services.
The star said: "I’ve started regularly going to church, and honestly just helping make the coffees and the sandwiches in the church hall gives me the nicest feeling I’ve had for a long time.
"I would urge people not to be scared to do something, however small – find a charity to volunteer for, go and read in a school.
"People talk about this all the time, but it actually is amazing what it gives you back."
