Fern Britton has opened up about entering a “new chapter” in her life following her split from ex-husband Phil Vickery.
In January 2020, the former This Morning host announced that she and her husband of 20 years had made the decision to go their separate ways.
“After more than 20 happy years together, Phil and I have decided to go our separate ways,” she wrote at the time, in a near-identical statement to her former partner. “We will always share a great friendship and our lovely children.
“We would appreciate it if our privacy is respected at this time. Thank you for your continued kindness and support.”
Two years on, Fern has spoken about the break-up in a new interview with Prima magazine.
“This new chapter has come at the right time for me,” she explained. “I don’t want to be the poster girl for separation, though, because a lot of people go through the same thing.
“Often, the children leave home and you look at each other and go, ‘Ah, where do we go from here?’. I only wish I was the sort of person who could have persevered through that, but I couldn’t.”
She went on to encourage anyone in a similar position to herself to “have courage” and “get yourself financially independent so you have the opportunity not to have to rely on anybody for anything”.
“We can’t rely on somebody for our own happiness, let alone to look after us and keep us housed,” Fern said. “Then, if you find yourself in a situation where you’re at a crossroads, have courage.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Fern insisted she was “not considering dating right now” noting that her life is “pretty bloody perfect right now”.
“I haven’t been seeing anyone and nobody has approached me, which is nice, too,” she explained.
“If someone came along who was lovely and kind and we didn’t have to live together, if he had his life and I had mine, that might be perfect.
“But on the other hand, life is pretty bloody perfect right now and I’m happy with my company, so meeting someone would simply be icing on the cake.”
Fern married the celebrity chef in 2000 following her split from Clive Jones in the same year. Phil split from his ex Sarah Ann Lock in 1999.
The couple have a 17-year-old daughter, Winnie together. Fern also has twins Harry and Jack, and daughter Grace, with ex Clive.
Phil and Fern met on This Morning, when she was still hosting the daytime show alongside Philip Schofield.
Read Fern Britton’s full interview in the new issue of Prima magazine, on sale now.
CORRECTION: This headline has been update to amend a typo.