‘THANK GOD I’M IN SUCH A GOOD PLACE NOW’
CAPRICE OPENS UP ABOUT OVERCOMING HARD TIMES, COPING WITH THE CHALLENGES OF HOMESCHOOLING AND MOVING FORWARD WITH HER LIFE
For Caprice, 2020 has certainly been a year of challenges. She famously quit Dancing On Ice in January after parting ways with her professional partner Hamish Gaman – with accusations of bullying on both sides. The ordeal has clearly had a lasting impact as she insists she’s now done with reality TV for good. “We don’t go backwards – we just go forwards,” she says.
She’s also faced a tough lockdown after her husband Ty Comfort and their six-year-old sons Jax and Jett all suffered with coronavirus in March.
But with life slowly getting back on track, Caprice reveals she’s relieved the children are back at school after struggling with homeschooling. “I’ve a totally newfound respect for schools and teachers,” she admits.
The 48-year-old started her career as a model in the 90s and reveals she had made her first million by age 26.
She launched her own lingerie line, By Caprice, in 2000 and recently branched out to homeware.
She met husband Ty in 2011, saying, “When I met Ty it happened so fast, and after three months we were off having babies.” The couple welcomed their sons, three weeks apart, in 2012 – one was born via surrogate and the other Caprice conceived naturally. She has previously said that they decided to give them a shared birthday and raise them as twins.
Here, she opens up about keeping the spark alive, staying in touch with her DOI co-stars and her wild party days...
You lost half a stone from Dancing On Ice. Have you managed to keep it off?
I actually ended up losing 16lb but I’ve put 6lb back on. I’m still down from a size 10 to an 8 though. I’m now doing this great class called Barrecore. It’s the most amazing exercise I’ve ever done. It’s using your own body weight and staying at certain positions for a very long time. I do it every day.
Do you think some of the weight you lost on Dancing On Ice was through stress?
Yes, I think it all was.
You got upset when your boys came home from school saying they’d heard things about you and the show. Was that the final straw?
I think there were a lot of final straws, but we don’t go backwards, we just go forwards. Thank God I’m in such a good place now. I don’t have any regrets about anything I do.
Are you done with reality TV now forever?
Yes. I did Big Brother and The Jump and I loved it. But I’m done now.
Will you keep in touch with any of the DOI contestants?
Oh my God, I loved all of them! I think I’m going to go out with Maura [Higgins] and H [from Steps] soon. We’re planning a night out.
Do you find your confidence grows as you get older?
I think you get better mentally. I was quite insecure when I was younger, and I was quite wild. But now with kids and my work, I’m the happiest and most grounded.
You were quite a party girl in your day. Do you ever miss it?
I invented the word party. But I’m happy where I’m at now. The thought of bouncing off the chandeliers makes me feel ill.
You met Ty aged 39 and decided to start a family months later. How did you know he was The One?
When I turned 35, I thought, “I’ve got to get serious. No more toyboys. I’ve got to figure this out because I want kids.” I got a piece of paper and wrote down every single adjective and noun that I wanted my perfect man to have. When I did meet him, my husband was everything – apart from two adjectives out of 85 on the list. I even put on it that I wanted him to be American.
How was isolation for you?
This whole homeschooling thing I struggled to get used to. I’ve a totally newfound respect for schools and teachers, and I’m not joking.