SUSANNAH CONSTANTINE
SUSANNAH CONSTANTINE OPENS UP ABOUT HER LONG-STANDING FRIENDSHIP WITH TRINNY, MARRIAGE COUNSELLING WITH HER HUSBAND AND WHAT HER LATE FRIEND PRINCESS MARGARET WOULD MAKE OF HARRY AND MEGHAN’S US MOVE
Back in 2001, Susannah Constantine and her best pal Trinny Woodall burst on to the style scene with their makeover show What Not To Wear. The vivacious pair grabbed life by the balls – and often their contestants by the boobs – as they shared simple, confidence-boosting tips for everyday people. Wide leg trousers anyone?
Though they were criticised for their sometimes brutal honesty, Susannah tells OK!, “It was such an authentic and genuine show. We loved doing it and so did the people we worked with.”
But despite calls from fans for the dynamic duo to reunite professionally, Susannah insists that ship has sailed. “Too much time has passed and we’re probably a bit too long in the tooth – but Trinny is still my absolute best friend.”
After leaving the show in 2005, the pair have gone on to explore their individual passions. For Susannah, that has always been writing, and her second novel, Summer In Mayfair, is about to hit the shelves.
The 58-year-old, who appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018, pens her novels in the kitchen of her Sussex family home, which is currently a full house amid the coronavirus pandemic. Susannah and her husband Sten Bertelsen, who celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in April, are parents to son Joe, 21, and daughters Esme, 19, and Cece, 16. Susannah also presents her podcast, My Wardrobe Malfunction.
Here, as she celebrates the release of her second book, Susannah reflects on her career and opens up about mental health…
You and your husband celebrated 25 years of marriage in April. How have you been getting along in lockdown?
We’re getting on amazingly well. I think we’re cutting each other a bit more slack than we might normally. Long may it last! I’m proud of that [milestone] actually. Of course you have to work at it, but a lot of it is luck and finding the right person. I also think, if you have kids, it helps to be united in the way you want to bring them up. I’ve currently got all the kids at home. My days are hijacked with cooking, cleaning, shopping and keeping the peace.
Every marriage goes through tough patches. Have you ever had couples’ counselling?
We did before we got married because he wouldn’t f ***** g marry me, so I dragged him to see a counsellor. Because he thought he was literally driving his car off the edge of a cliff never to return. He thought it was the death knell.
You wrote in a column that you were considering sleeping in separate beds at one point. Did that happen? Well, yes, we have a little guest room so if either one of us is snoring, we’ll retreat there. There’s something kind of sexy about sleeping in a separate room and then when you meet up, it’s like a date night.
Earlier this year, you said Victoria Beckham’s style was “manufactured” and described her as a “cliché”. Would you feel awkward if you ran into her?
Oh God, I couldn’t care less. She is who she is and good luck to her. But I do think her clothes are f ***** g fabulous. I love her collections, I love everything. We’re probably just very different people. I would love her to come on my podcast!
You and Trinny [who now has her own make-up brand] recently reunited on your podcast. Do you think people assumed you had fallen out when you stopped working together?
Some people maybe did. But Trinny is still my absolute best friend. She’s like family. If the desire for people to see us on television hadn’t stopped, we’d probably still be working together. But we left on a high and had such a laugh doing it. Now we’re both doing what we really love.
Do you think the shows you did together would get made today?
Yes, I think they would. Of course, we might get even more stick for touching women’s breasts, but that was never done in a demeaning or sexual way. I think there is a real desire just for that honesty and trust, and not taking things too seriously. Everything is so f ***** g worthy now! We loved doing those shows. People often say, how many people did you upset? I know, hand on heart, that you could ask any of the women and men we worked with and not one would say they had a bad experience. They loved it.
You spoke about your battle with anxiety last year. How is that now?
It comes and goes. I have learned to accept it and I know how to deal with it. It’s just something that’s there – fear, maybe mixed with guilt. I never really know what it’s about. I had therapy years ago but I know that activity gets rid of it. I’ll go for a long run or I’ll find a lot of solace in nature.
Your mum suffered from anxiety, too. Do you worry that your kids could inherit it?
I don’t think they have but I’m very aware of it and I keep an eye on them. Obviously they have their worries and concerns, but thankfully we talk about it openly. They know what my mum was like and they know I suffer from anxiety.
Do you think your anxiety could be hormone related?
Certainly it was after I had my son. I got bad postnatal depression but I didn’t realise I had it until eight years later, after two more children. But I’ve suffered from anxiety all my life. I think it’s linked to waking up every morning and not knowing how my mum was going to be.
How do you feel about the prospect of turning 60 in two years’ time?
F ***** g hell, it’s just that word! I’m absolutely fine about getting older but
I do not want to hear those two syllables. I don’t want a number attached to me. I’m in complete denial. I will let it glide by and go and do something insane!
You lost 1½st doing Famously Unfit For
Sport Relief in 2018. Were you happy to drop that weight?
Yes, very. I was not happy before that. Famously Unfit was one of the best things I’ve ever done because it pulled me out of a midlife crisis, I guess. I lost the weight and felt better about myself, and I have kept it off. It hasn’t been difficult – I have just changed the way I eat and I still run a lot. I am 10st 6lb and I know for a fact that each tit weighs nearly 6lb, so without those I’d be tiny! I thought about getting them reduced but I think it’s too drastic an operation and I just need to accept it.
Are you confident in your body?
I do think about it and I’m conscious that if I’m fit and within a certain weight range, I am healthy. At my age, that is the most important thing for me, to be healthy.
Have you ever had Botox or fillers?
No. Nothing. I’m not against it but I can’t be a***d and it’s expensive. And it’s just so obvious when you have had it done. But if it makes you feel better about yourself, then do it. I think what looks far more natural is when women have a good old-fashioned f ***** g facelift.
You were good friends with the late Princess Margaret. What do you think she would make of Harry and Meghan’s move to the US?
Oh I loved her with all my heart. I think about her often and I do miss her. I have no idea how she’d feel because it’s such an unprecedented move. I think they are great, I think Meghan’s fantastic and whatever makes them happy they should do. I really hope it works out for them. Let them live their lives.
Did you find it harder writing a second novel than the first?
Weirdly, I found the second one easier because I learned so much from the first time. Writing is where I find freedom and joy. It’s something I really love. I write very slowly and I listen to grime and garage when I’m working. I love [grime artist] Dave!
People are sometimes cynical of celebrities who have had other careers and then write a novel. Did you feel you had to prove yourself?
No, not at all. My publishers were more aware of that. When I wrote it, I didn’t write it for an audience, I wrote it because I love writing and if anyone read it, then great. It took me a long time to believe in myself, and I think that’s why I enjoyed writing the second novel more, because my faith in my work is growing a bit.
‘i’m absolutely fine about getting older’