karren Brady: “We working mums are always on a guilt trip”
Businesswoman, baroness and The Apprentice star Karren Brady talks to Closer about the battle of being a working mum and why Jordan has her sympathy
She’s one of Britain’s most S high-profile business brains, providing expert financial advice to the Government. She’s also the boss of West Ham football club and Lord Sugar’s key aide on The Apprentice.
But Karren Brady admits her success has come at some cost to her personal life, and the 47-year-old – who famously returned to work just three days after having her daughter Sophia, now 20 – has always wrestled with her guilt over being a working mum.
She says: “When I was pregnant 20 years ago, work-life balance didn’t exist and you just had to get on with it. But that is why I am so pleased things have changed and you’ve got a generation of women who can take time off – and are expected to take time off – and it doesn’t seem to be a huge barrier.”
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Karren adds: “I have spent my whole life going from sports day to the boardroom and you always feel guilty. There is no magic formula and you have to accept you can only do what you can do.
“But out of all the titles I have, ‘Working Mother’ is probably the best one because my kids and my work are the two most important things to me. I would never give up either. It is a juggle and it can be difficult but I am through the other end.”
Now Karren – who also has son Paolo, 18 – is looking forward to focusing on her marriage to her football manager husband Paul Peschisolido, 45.
She says: “I am not dreading the empty nest syndrome – I am actually looking forward to spending more time with my husband. We have been married 21 years and we have an awful lot in common. I get very little time off so every minute is invaluable for me.”
Meanwhile, Karren reveals she empathises with Jordan – also known as Katie Price – who recently decided to take a break from Loose Women to concentrate on her marriage as she continues to struggle with the fallout from her husband Kieran’s affairs in 2014.
Karren admits: “When you have a young family it is tough. Katie has young children and it’s hard to hold down a career and a relationship. Like Katie, most working mothers will tell you that the last thing on their list is themselves and we spend our whole lives on a guilt trip juggling work with home commitments.” And as pregnancy rumours continue to surround Cheryl, Karren – who worked with the singer on the celebrity version of The Apprentice in 2007 – says she thinks she would make a great mum.
LIFE-CHANGING MOMENT
Karren reveals: “I think she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen – and she is beautiful on the inside as well as the out.
“She has had a few turbulent years but she has got a good mum herself and I think she will be a great mum, too.”
In 2006, Karren had a life-changing experience when doctors discovered she a brain aneurysm and was given a 30 per cent chance of survival. After doctors
‘You can’t spend your life looking over your shoulder’
successfully operated, she says she embraces life more than ever.
She admits: “You can spend your whole life looking over your shoulder worrying but I have the view of whatever will be will be. Since the operation, I have no balance and I find it hard to even stand still. In fact, if I’m not on solid ground, I find it hard to keep my balance.”
Karren, who is 5ft 6 and weighs 9½st, is the fittest and lightest she has been in years, which she attributes to a healthy diet and from walking up to two miles a day.
She says: “I have met people in the street who say, ‘You look like Karren Brady, but she is fat.’ But I don’t care.
“I am happy with the way I look; it’s not something that drives me mad. Some women are a bit insecure and they tamper with their looks.
“I want people to think about what I have achieved and not what I look like... although I have to say that I am certainly the bestlooking person on the Apprentice panel!”
The Apprentice is on every Thursday at 9pm on BBC1 and BBC1 HD