Jo Whiley: “I grazed lips with George Clooney!”
The radio presenter opens up about A-list encounters and why she’ll never have cosmetic surgery
he’s mates with Ed Sheeran, S admits she likes to get drunk with U2’s Bono, and says her celeb crush is Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney. But despite mixing with some of the hottest men in the industry, radio presenter Jo Whiley would never dream of swapping her husband of 27 years – band manager Steve Morton – for any of them.
Speaking to Closer, she says, “I met Steve when he booked a band on my radio show back in the ’90s. There might have been times when we’ve got on each other’s nerves over the years, but I always tell myself to just walk away and take a breather. I would never give up on my marriage.
“Things change throughout a long-term relationship. You grow with each other, and you have to give each other space.”
And while Jo, 52, has yet to receive her invite to Ed’s wedding to fiancée Cherry Seaborn, she does have some wise words of advice for the 27-year-old singer.
CELEBRITY PARTIES
Jo says, “Ed and I get on great. I would say to him that it’s never going to be that easy, and you won’t be in a blissful state throughout your entire time together. You have to be patient and work at it. But it’s 110 per cent worth sticking at marriage, because that person will become your best friend and be there for you throughout your life.”
But despite her devotion to husband Steve, Jo does admit she turned to “jelly” during an interview with George Clooney.
Blushing at the memory, she says, “I think maybe I touched George Clooney’s lips when I interviewed him for the movie Batman & Robin. I had about five minutes with him and I was so infatuated at the time that I was literally like jelly.
“I think he probably shook my hand, touched my cheek and our lips grazed, but that was enough for me.
“I keep looking at pictures of him and Amal recently, just thinking, ‘Oh my God, she is so gorgeous.’ So who am I kidding?”
While Jo has four children with Steve – India, 26, Jude, 18, Cassius, 16, and Coco, nine – that has never stopped her from partying with A-list stars.
She recalls, “I will never forget hanging out with Bono, drinking in a bar in Dublin. He was horrified when I asked for a diet Coke with my Jack Daniel’s whiskey, and he gave me a proper lecture about why I should always drink ginger ale with it!”
Although she likes to hang out with the rich and famous, Jo admits it’s her family and school mums that keep her grounded.
She says, “My family keep me very downto-earth and I don’t live in London. I live a very normal life in Northamptonshire, and my friends are the other school mums who I’ve met at the gates.”
GREATEST FEARS
Having worked as a radio presenter and DJ since the early ’90s, Jo knows just how pressurised the music industry can be – and juggling the demands of that with a family can sometimes prove too much.
She says, “I cry when I am stressed and I’m constantly emotional at the moment as I have a new radio show and I’m nervous about it doing well. I am always running the kids from one club to another, too. But that is the job of a parent... being a taxi service!”
As a hands-on mum, Jo admits that she is very protective of her children. She says, “My greatest fear has to be about India, Jude, Cassius and Coco not fulfilling their potential.
“I constantly worry about making sure that they’re happy. But it’s mad as they are all doing really well. My daughter India wanted to be a food stylist, and she has made great progress in the past year, so that is working out OK. All of my four are growing up fast!”
At 52 , Jo looks in incredible shape and could easily pass for someone ten years
her junior. It’s refreshing to see that, in a celebrity world filled with surgically enhanced stars, she refuses to bow down to the pressure to have a nip or a tuck.
She admits, “I would never have fillers or Botox... I don’t like injections at the best of times, so the thought of self-inflicting a needle on myself for vanity’s sake is not something I want to do.
“There’s also the fear of looking like I have had fillers. I just don’t want to be that person in the papers that everyone is pointing at.
LOOKING YOUTHFUL
She continues, “I dislike my tummy more than anything, but it’s just never been my greatest bit of my body. But when you have had four children and 400 croissants in the space of a few years, then there is definitely an element of wobble around the tummy area. “To try to keep myself looking youthful, I do have collagen wave facials, but I don’t even understand the science of it. All I know is that I have them and I look in the mirror and I think, ‘Oh, I look good now.’ I might be completely deluding myself that they work for me. “Plus, my husband Steve is always paying me compliments and saying how good I look, so I must be doing something right!”
‘I always worry about my kids’ happiness’