In this week’s episode of HELLO!'s Second Act podcast, author of My Sister and Other Lovers, Esther Freud, opens up about finding love again after her divorce from actor David Morrissey, how life began again when she was 60, and how her sister, designer Bella Freud, encouraged her to seek help when she was going through the menopause.
Turning 60
Having called time on her 27-year relationship with David Morrissey in 2020, the author shares how she celebrated her milestone 60th birthday by backpacking around the world, taking up boxing and finding love again.
"It was fun to turn 60," says Esther, who is the daughter of British painter, Lucian Freud. "Me and my boyfriend – I love using that word – went travelling for four months to Australia, Singapore and Laos. I came back just before my 60th birthday and had a wonderful party. It felt really good."
Feeling like a failure
While things are rosy now, it has taken Esther some time to get to this place, having felt like "a failure" following the breakdown of her marriage. "On paper, we were both doing well. Our work was going well, we had a beautiful home and beautiful children, but it just didn't sit easily anymore. My body was screaming out with unhappiness. I had to let my life transform and change, and that meant sadly leaving my marriage," she says.
Esther's marriage problems coincided with the realisation that she was going through menopause. Her sister, fashion designer Bella, had "screamed" at her to get a second opinion when doctors dismissed her tearful symptoms. "We've always been really close," she says of Bella. "She was the person who said: 'OK, so you saw these two doctors – don't give up.' She's very on my case. I'm probably a little bit more resigned."
When Esther was finally prescribed progesterone, she found it life-changing, telling HELLO!'s podcast host Ateh Jewel: "Within three nights, I was sleeping and my tears had dried up. The problems didn't vanish, but I could handle it."
Looking back, does she believe that # menopause may have played a part in her break-up? "I think I would say it did," she admits. "It did propel me to take action. But the truth is that action needed to be taken for both our sakes. So, I'm grateful for it."
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