Aggie MacKenzie: ‘It’s my fault my husband cheated…’
Aggie MacKenzie of HowCleanIsYourHouse? comes clean about her marriage and that ‘feud’ with former co-star Kim Woodburn
For 20 years, TV presenter Aggie MacKenzie, 63, was married to Matthew Goulcher, father of her sons Rory, now 27, and Ewan, 23. She believes her absences while working on Channel 4’s How Clean Is Your
House? with Kim Woodburn may have encouraged him to stray. ‘He was having an affair when we were married. I was in
America working for five days. At his mother’s funeral, which I couldn’t get back for, he met up with a girl he’d been at school with and always fancied.
‘They got together and ended up having an affair, for a long time. We did try to get back together, but I knew I wasn’t No. 1 any more… and I didn’t want to be No. 2.
‘I take at least half of the responsibility for breaking up,’ she adds. ‘I didn’t look after the marriage. In many ways, I treated Matthew the same way my mother treated my father, which was, “You just fit in.” He always felt low on my list of priorities and he’s right about that. The children, work, even my social life took precedence – he was bottom of the heap.
‘He used to say a lot that I took him for granted.’
She continued, ‘The woman he’s with now completely adores him. I get annoyed with women who slate men who have affairs. It takes two to tango – it’s not always just down to the man.’
But despite saying she doesn’t blame her former husband, Aggie tearfully expressed her regret at the break-up last summer, when she appeared on ITV reality show Our Shirley Valentine Summer.
‘ When he came into my life, I thought, “He’s everything in one package.” And since we split up, everyone I’ve met I have compared with him.’
So does that mean the couple could ever reunite? No, she says.
‘It’s clear we couldn’t go back. Even when we were trying to make it work, I knew in my heart of hearts, it wasn’t going to.’
The couple do still work as a family unit, though.
‘I see him regularly – on Sunday evenings we have what I call The Dysfunctional Family Supper!’ she laughs.
The 63-year-old Scot now lives alone in north London, where, amusingly, someone else comes in to clean her house!
‘I like being on my own. I don’t get lonely,’ she says. ‘I do enjoy male company and want a monogamous relationship.
‘I’m 63, but I don’t look like an old wrinkled crone!’ continues Aggie. ‘I do prefer younger men. My husband was eight-anda-half years younger than me. But I’m not looking for a husband. I’m happy toddling along for now with occasional dates.
‘I’m always up for new adventures,’ she says, adding that she now teaches yoga.
‘I’m 64 this year and nowhere near ready for retirement.’
At its height, 4.5 million viewers enjoyed the chalkand-cheese characters of Kim Woodburn and Aggie MacKenzie in How Clean Is Your House? This popularity led to the spin-off shows Too Posh To Wash and When Kim & Aggie Went To Hospital, a bestselling book and DVDs.
Aggie went on to front Storage Hoarders, but she hasn’t spoken to her former co-host since they stopped presenting together in 2009.
In fact, rumour has it they didn’t speak off camera throughout the last series…
‘I don’t give her much thought,’ says Aggie. ‘Kim was very difficult to be around.
‘She just drains all the energy out of you. At times she made me feel quite frightened. I didn’t really know what she was capable of. She’s a very angry person with no control over her anger.
‘She couldn’t help herself. My two sons hated the way she treated me. One of them set my phone so that when Kim called me, usually to harangue me about something, the ringtone was a voice shouting.
‘It was perfect casting, actually, because we were so different. But I could see from day one that it wasn’t going to be an easy ride.
‘There were arguments from the beginning. I wanted to be friends and invited Kim and her husband, who is charming, to Sunday lunch.
‘But I was never invited to theirs. As Kim would say, she doesn’t “do” friends – she doesn’t trust anyone and finds it difficult to relax with people. She always defaulted to being angry. It’s such a shame, as it totally wrecks her life.’
While Kim may be known for her fiery temper, Aggie (a former columnist at best) is not. When life deals her a blow, she paints on a smile – some very good advice.
‘I’m 63, but I don’t look like an old wrinkled crone – I’m always up for new adventures’