Richard & Judy: separate lives? ‘Crunch time’ for TV couple
She’s left her TV days behind, he still hankers after the limelight and now all the kids have left home, are…
There’s certainly been plenty to talk about for Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan lately. The couple were delighted at daughter Chloe’s recent engagement to rugby star James Haskell - but, last week, Judy confessed she and Richard had sat in a pub and ‘stared at each other’ - in ‘shock’ at how swiftly their lives had changed.
Last August, the second of Judy’s three sons got married. In January, the other had his second child. A couple of months previously, Richard and Judy’s youngest son revealed his girlfriend is expecting – then Chloe’s ‘ bombshell’!
Last week, Judy confessed, ‘A significant part of our function is coming to an end. It’s hard not to feel a bit redundant.’
As she prepares to turn 70 on 16 May (three days after Richard’s 62nd), it seems times have changed for Richard and Judy. During their This Morning heyday in the 90s, they seemed joined at the hip. But now, they appear to be going in different directions.
Richard may be semiretired, but it feels like he’s still pursuing the dream of TV stardom. As well as regular spots on The Wright Stuff, he recently filled in for Piers Morgan for a second time on Good Morning Britain.
Meanwhile, Judy prefers being at home where she can ‘curl up with a good book’.
Celebrity relationship coach Vena Ramphal tells best, ‘Judy seems like the sort of wife who would be fine with that. She’s not dazzled by celebrity – she’s done TV, understands it, and is unlikely to feel threatened by Richard’s work.’
But Vena agrees that when the last child leaves home, becomes engaged or is pregnant, this can be a tricky phase in a relationship.
‘It’s often crunch time for a marriage – two people realise they have little in common except their identity as a husband and wife,’ she says.
‘I think Richard and Judy are close, but even in good marriages readjusting takes energy and focus – it’s difficult.’
‘A significant part of our function is coming to an end. It’s hard not to feel a bit redundant’