Life with Ulrika Jonsson
Ulrika Jonsson opens up on life, love, keeping it real and her new monthly column in best, starting next week
If anyone has been there, done that and got the T-shirt when you’re talking about the school of life, it’s Swedish TV personality Ulrika Jonsson. Every month, the mum-offour, who recently divorced third husband Brian Monet, will be sharing her thoughts and reflections on life as a born-again singleton, at 52 –telling it absolutely how it is, and making us laugh -and cry – along the way. We can’t wait!
Welcome to the best family, Ulrika! Are you looking forward to your new column?
Absolutely! I want to bring your readers honesty and a dose of humour. Sometimes life is brilliant, but it’s not always what you thought it was going to be when you were young and believed that everything would be happy ever after…
We love your honesty… you don’t present life as picture-postcard perfect.
Because it’s not! Even I – a grown, 52-year-old woman with enough life experience under her belt – feel intimidated by those people making out they have these perfect lives and homes. My house is full of dog hair and shouting kids. And celebs and their ‘ beautiful children’? Mine are beautiful, but they can be total pains as well! They’re messy, and hard work. And those people make you feel like you’re doing it wrong. But you’re not. They’re putting on the gloss, while you’re living the real thing.
So, what can we expect from your column?
It will reflect where I am in my personal life, and how I feel about things going on in the world. For me, personally, there are seismic changes going on. I’ve gone from being with someone for 14 years, to feeling psychologically and emotionally uprooted. I’m getting used to a new way of living, and I’m still in shock! I just wasn’t expecting to find myself in this place. But don’t worry, there’ll be humour too, because the world’s too serious without it!
Do you use humour a lot in difficult situations?
It’s always been an important part of my life. My late dad, Bo, was a very observant, naturally funny guy - much
When people say, ‘Oh she comes with a lot of baggage’ you kind of think, who doesn’t at 52?!
funnier than me. Sometimes when things are so awful, there’s no other option than to take the mickey out of a situation and laugh in its face.
Two big loves of yours are dogs and cooking – will we hear much about them?
No doubt! I don’t know where I’d be without my dogs, Leo, Nessie and recently adopted Fella (all English bulldogs). They’re amazing therapy, amazing company, and great for linking you up with other people. What the dogs and the cooking both represent is a domestic setting – and that’s where I’m happiest. ‘Showbizzy b******s’ – as
I call it – has not been the making of me. The making of me has been my family.
I imagine you’ll touch on romance, too. Are you feeling cynical about love?
No, just exhausted! I don’t hate men, I’m not bitter. I just feel, inevitably, after being with one person for so long, that I question how I’ll know for sure next time if that person is The
One? It’s not cynicism – it’s a dose of healthy pragmatism.
Are you ready to go on dates now then?
No! Well… I met a lovely guy on
Celebrity First Dates Hotel, but it would have been a miracle if he’d turned out to be The One. The prospect of online dating is too bizarre. Also, how weird would it be if you found Ulrika Jonsson on a dating site? You’d never know who was genuine. You need to be anonymous, and I don’t have that luxury. It has to be really organic, like flirting with a handsome guy in Waitrose. I do believe in fate, and that things are meant to come into your life, so I guess it will be a waiting game…
So, you’re not ruling it out?
I won’t be putting myself ‘out there’.
But should someone organically come my way, I’d be up for it, mostly as my daughters are very encouraging. They’re very sweet about trying to make sure their mummy is happy – as I’ve not felt that happy recently. Over the past year, I’ve had to learn to go out on my own. I’m totally out of my comfort zone. I miss sharing things with someone, even if it’s kicking off about your rubbish day.
Are the kids very protective of you?
My youngest, Malcolm, who’s 11, is adamant that Mummy is not allowed to have another boyfriend! The girls and my eldest son, who’s 25, are so supportive. I try to be honest and run an ‘open house’ where we can all say what we want, as long as we’re not horrible to each other! I want them to know that if I’m sad, I’m not going to hide it and be a Fifties housewife, saying, ‘Everything’s fine, darlings!’
People talk a lot about ‘baggage’, how do you feel about that term?
It’s so negative. When people say, ‘Oh she comes with a lot of baggage…’ you kind of think, who doesn’t?! I don’t want to be around somebody who’s had a perfect life, made no mistakes and had nothing interesting or difficult come their way! I’ve been referred to as ‘unlucky in love’ – it’s 100 per cent wrong. I got with my first husband 31 years ago. Over three decades, I’ve had three marriages and relationships in between – I’ve had some really bloody amazing times, and some horrendous times! That’s LIFE. We’ve got to be smarter about the vocabulary we use around these things. That’s what I want to do with this column: be real.