THE PARTY GIRL
Hedonist turned wellness guru DAVINIA TAYLOR tells Kerry Potter why she swapped
Davinia Taylor went to a rave recently. Part of London’s notorious Primrose Hill party posse back in the day, she was at the event to mark the 40th anniversary of The Haçienda, the Manchester nightclub she used to sneak into when she was a schoolgirl. ‘There were tons of people on pills and I got goosebumps from the music,’ she says. But unlike many of her fellow ravers, she was stone-cold sober, as per the past 14 years. ‘I was in the car by 11, driving home. Best of both worlds – having a great night but then still getting up early the next day. That element of smug because I’m one of the “wellness people”!’ she grins. How things have changed. It feels surreal to be chatting about epigenetics and regenerative farming with the former Hollyoaks actress best known for getting hammered with
Kate Moss and Sadie Frost and who famously bought Noel Gallagher’s Supernova Heights house in 2005. But here we are. Following battles with alcoholism and overeating, the 45-year-old has turned her life and health around, and written a new book, Hack Your Hormones, which offers advice on how to harness the various hormones that influence sleep, mood, eating habits, energy and stress levels, and follows 2021’s It’s Not A Diet, which sold 60,000 copies. Taylor also has one million Instagram followers and hosts sold-out health seminars – a friend who attended one says her fans, largely other midlife women, hang on to Taylor’s every word.
‘I’m relatable,’ she says. ‘I’m divorced, I’ve lost my mum, I’ve got kids all over the place [she has four sons by three different dads], I load and empty the dishwasher three times a day and I’ve got so many laundry washes on it’s a joke. Life can get overwhelming.’ She finds balance via ‘biohacking’, a currently fashionable practice that involves making small changes to your lifestyle to ‘boost’ your biology for improved health. Some of those things are sensible, some a bit silly, as we’ll see. She warns me when we first sit down for a chat at her publisher’s office that she has ‘verbal diarrhoea’. Subsequently, she doesn’t draw breath for over an hour. Extremely tanned and extremely slim, she’s sweary, forthright, witty company and seems to have ants in her navy Serena Bute pants (and matching waistcoat). She is the kind of fitness freak who does walking lunges along the platform while waiting for a train (and posts it on Instagram). ‘Believe it or not, this is me calm,’ she laughs.
When it comes to health, she has the zeal and patter of a 1960s evangelical preacher, at one point fixing me with her blue eyes and heckling me about my diet. ‘You’re funny about meat? What? You can’t say a plant-based meal is superior to steak!’ she booms. And on it goes. By the end, I
feel as if I’ve been caught up in a tornado. She is not, she assures me, the new Gwyneth Paltrow. She has a range of supplements called WillPowders but will not be flogging ‘weird candles’ or ‘dumbbells that cost 30 grand’.
‘I’m the antithesis of Gwyneth!’ she says. ‘I’m a failed actor, for a start. And I definitely didn’t consciously uncouple from my ex.’ She’s referring to Dave Gardner, sports agent and David Beckham’s right-hand man, who she was married to from 2003 to 2010. When they divorced, Gardner, who went on to date actress Liv Tyler, won full custody of their son Gray, now 15, due to Taylor’s struggles – she’d previously been in rehab several times, taking a few years to get sober. ‘It was brutal. But you have to park it. You can’t rewrite history.’ Has she had difficult conversations with Gray, whose custody she now splits with Gardner, about that period? ‘No. All he cares about is how Man United are doing. He doesn’t give a s*** about my history. I’m irrelevant, I’m just white noise.’
OK, so not Gwyneth, then. But she does come from
‘REHAB WAS BRUTAL. BUT YOU HAVE TO PARK IT. YOU CAN’T REWRITE HISTORY’
wealth; the only daughter of multimillionaire loo-roll businessman Alan Murphy. And she is a self-styled health guru with no relevant qualifications, advising other women on how to live their lives. In fairness, she puts in the hours, poring over medical journals and interviewing the likes of highly respected genetic epidemiology expert Professor Tim Spector on her podcast. Many of her tips are accessible and backed by research – getting daylight into your eyeballs early in the morning to help reset your body clock for better sleep, for example. But not all: I was surprised to read she says nicotine patches can help improve focus and recommends herbal remedy kava kava as an alternative to alcohol, despite it being banned. ‘We can’t cotton-wool everyone,’ she shrugs when I ask whether it’s responsible advice. She admits that she will go to extremes in the pursuit of wellness. Will she try anything? ‘Yes! I’m ever inquisitive.’ The worst thing, she says, was a kambo ritual involving a shaman, frog sebum, uncontrollable vomiting and being burned with a joss stick.
Taylor started researching the world of hormones when one of her sons was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and she suspected she had it, too. Some studies have suggested a link between the condition and low levels of dopamine, the reward hormone that drives cravings. ‘The penny dropped – I realised I’d always sought out dopamine.’ That’s why, she believes, she was such a hedonist throughout her 20s. ‘I wasn’t drinking to block out trauma – I had a lovely happy childhood.’ It was all about chasing the
buzz – something she now does via running, caffeine and listening to pumping house music. This new regime helps her to focus and be productive.
Is there a danger, though, of replacing overeating or alcohol excess (in rehab she was advised to swap booze for sugar and subsequently put on four stone) with an addiction to wellbeing? She doesn’t seem like the kind of person who can do anything in moderation – ‘I don’t want to be beige,’ as she puts it. That’s not going to happen, she insists. ‘I’d worry if I wasn’t getting enough sleep, wasn’t in a positive mood 80 per cent of the time or was cutting out things that are normal. But I’m not. I had a Chinese takeaway at the weekend.’
Part of her quest for optimum health stems from the death of her mother, Lynne, from breast cancer ten years ago. For the first time Taylor quietens and her eyes prick with tears. ‘She loved being a grandmother. She got to hold Asa and a couple of months later she was gone. That kills me.’
Taylor left London for rural Lancashire during lockdown with her partner of a decade, Matthew Leyden, 44, their sons Asa, nine, and Jude, seven, and her son Luxx, 11, whose father she doesn’t talk about publicly (‘Gagging order! He’s not famous, though’). She’s glad she hit rock bottom early in life and got her act together by her 30s, she says: ‘My kids have a mum they can rely on.’ Leyden is a calming influence, a hardworking builder. She met him on the Manchester party scene as a teenager and they reconnected when he worked on her house. I wonder where her drive to build the wellbeing brand comes from – she is, after all, an heiress.
‘I have outgoings you wouldn’t believe! Having four kids is very expensive’. Her self-made parents, she points out, both came from the same council estate in Liverpool and instilled in her a strong work ethic. ‘I need to sustain an income for myself. It’s not in me to just sit back.’
As for her old glam gang, some drifted away when Taylor got clean. ‘It happened quite organically. You just have to distance yourself for your own preservation. I keep in touch with a few of them and am still really good friends with Sadie and Meg [Mathews]. Meg was fundamental to me getting into wellbeing. But my friendships are maintained mainly by WhatsApp at the moment. My kids need me morning, noon and night.’ What about Kate Moss? ‘I’m friends with her but we’re not on WhatsApp. I wish her well, of course, because she’s had a ferocious time as well. But that sort of fashionista thing doesn’t rock my world at all. I find it hard to get dressed up these days.’
Indifference to fancy frocks may be one of the reasons why she’s not yet married Leyden. ‘That’s another admin thing we still need to do. It’s, like, do I have to organise a wedding? I’m not really a party person.’
Um, are you sure about that?
‘Ha, people assume I am, but I have been sober for longer than I drank. I don’t think I even liked parties
– I just drank to make them bearable.’
‘I’M STILL GOOD FRIENDS WITH SADIE [FROST] AND MEG [MATHEWS] – SHE WAS KEY TO ME GETTING INTO WELLBEING’
CANCER
22 June-23 July Like everyone, you have had your share of successes and failures, of good times and bad. The question is: how have they helped you? This is the ideal time to look back and learn what you can from the events of your life. Don’t judge yourself too harshly. CALL 1560 475 015*
LEO
24 July-23 Aug As the Sun enters the most idealistic area of your chart you may regret some things you said or did. However, all experience is good even when it seems bad. Don’t worry – if you feel you’ve wronged someone you’ll soon get the chance to make amends. CALL 1560 475 016*
VIRGO
24 Aug-23 Sept The Sun in the career area of your chart is good news for your ambitions. If you feel your talents are under-appreciated, now is the time to do something about it. Change your job, your style, your priorities. Create your future, don’t just wait for it to happen. CALL 1560 475 017*
LIBRA
24 Sept-23 Oct You have not been in much of a risk-taking mood of late, but the Sun’s move into your fellow Air sign of Gemini will change all that. You have taken your turn at being cautious, now you must go to the opposite extreme and be as adventurous as you know how. CALL 1560 475 018*
SCORPIO
24 Oct-22 Nov You’ll find it hard to be objective this week. However, the Sun’s change of signs suggests that if you listen to what partners and colleagues have to say, and act on their advice, you could make some easy money. You are not the only one with good ideas. CALL 1560 475 019*
SAGITTARIUS
23 Nov-21 Dec The Sun’s move into your opposite sign means you need to pay extra attention to partnership issues at home and work. If you’re used to getting your own way you must learn to compromise. If you over-compromise you must learn to stand up for yourself. CALL 1560 475 020*
CAPRICORN
22 Dec-20 Jan The past weeks were fun but now you must turn your attention to more serious matters. There will still be plenty to enjoy – but your work and, maybe, your health, have been neglected. Now you must restore the balance. A few early nights might be a good start. CALL 1560 475 021*
AQUARIUS
21 Jan-19 Feb One of the best times of the year begins as the Sun enters the most creative, romantic and dynamic area of your chart. Whatever restrictions you’ve been labouring under recently will be swept away as if they never existed. Maybe they were all in the mind. CALL 1560 475 010*
PISCES
20 Feb-20 March Pisceans are naturally emotional, and the Sun’s entry into a particularly sensitive area of your chart will make you even more emotional than usual. Don’t get carried away and end up in a pool of tears. Feel with your heart but use your head too. CALL 1560 475 011*
ARIES
21 March-20 April No matter what occurred in recent weeks, your mood will improve considerably as the Sun is moving into the most outgoing area of your chart. If you make an effort to meet new people and visit new places you’ll soon be having the time of your life. CALL 1560 475 012*
TAURUS
21 April-21 May The momentum you’ve built up in recent weeks will keep you going, even though the Sun is leaving your sign. You will, however, have to slow down eventually, so start streamlining your plans. Focus on money-making projects and you won’t go far wrong. CALL 1560 475 013*