Fern: It’s good for children to see parents row
IT’S a phrase most parents will be familiar with as they try to shield their children from their marital rows: ‘Not in front the kids.’
But the TV presenter Fern Britton believes the opposite should apply and that it is healthy for children to see their parents quarrelling because this shows them how ‘real’ relationships work.
She said she and her husband, TV chef Phil Vickery, have ‘humdinger’ arguments, ‘but then we’re normal’. She added: ‘That’s good for the children to see – this is a real relationship.
‘You hear people say: “Thirty years and not a cross word.” Sorry, I simply don’t believe that. But if it is true, how boring.’
Miss Britton, 60, married Mr Vickery 16 years ago after divorcing her TV executive husband Clive Jones. She has three children from her first marriage, now all at university, and 14year-old daughter Winnie with Mr Vickery, 55.
The presenter of the BBC antiques quiz show For What It’s Worth admitted she wished she had managed to save her first marriage for the sake of her children. ‘That would have been better for the kids. You want it to last for the rest of your lives,’ she said.
However, she added she felt ‘liberated’ when she ended the ten-year marriage and met Mr Vickery, whom she calls ‘my life’s great love, a really amazing, husband, partner, friend’.
Miss Britton, who has spoken about her struggles with postnatal depression, also urged women not to be afraid of taking medication for the condition.
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, she said: ‘One in four women suffers from postnatal depression, yet many battle it without recognising the reason for their mood swings or seeking professional help.
‘Women imagine they’ll turn into zombies if they take pills, but they won’t. The pills prescribed aren’t tranquilisers.’
The former This Morning presenter, who has just published her sixth novel, The Postcard, has also previously spoken about how her relationship with Mr Vickery helped her cope with suicidal thoughts after her divorce.
‘I could never have said this in the past, but now I can see a future,’ she said.