Author Esther Freud, who is also the daughter of famed painter Lucian Freud and sister of fashion designer Bella Freud, found that her life began again when she turned 60, following her divorce from actor David Morrissey. Speaking to Ateh Jewel on HELLO!'s Second Act podcast, the 62-year-old opened up about struggling with her divorce because everything had been going well on paper, meeting her new partner soon after the end of her marriage, and her blended family with David.
For the writer, one of the greatest difficulties with the divorce was that the communication went "awry" despite efforts from both Esther and David. She shared: "We always were friends, and we tried really hard. We talked so much in the lead up to our marriage disintegrating, always with hope and optimism that it wouldn't end." The pair "talked so much" that they "understood each other, and just couldn't somehow reach each other.
© Alan Davidson/Shutterstock"There wasn't a huge amount of animosity or grievance really left," Esther added. "I felt it was more that our communication had gone awry. I didn't know what he wanted. I remember one day thinking, 'I don't even know what food you like. I don't even know anything anymore. I've lost my link with this person who was like you'."
Though the divorce happened "slowly and gradually", the I Couldn't Love You More writer has no regrets over how long it took. "Someone said, 'You stayed in a relationship for a long time that didn't suit you, ultimately," she told Ateh. "And I thought, 'No, that's not the truth'. If I had left any earlier, I think I would've thought, 'We never tried that'. And no, we tried that, and all the other things too – and they didn't work."
Esther Freud's life after divorce and finding love again
Though Esther found herself "furious" and "inflexible" around the divorce, she soon realised that she didn't need to feel hampered by her desire to keep her family together. "Our family will always be together," she explained. "It's not going to disappear, as we have close, loving relationships, and so my relationship doesn't feel in danger."
The writer found herself "lucky" to have fallen in love with a new partner so soon after she and David separated: "I actually met him unseemly soon after the end of my marriage." She was introduced to him by a mutual friend and, after communicating for a bit over email, they met up on a blind date – for Esther, it was love at first sight.
"I walked in. I thought, 'Yes'," she told Ateh. "That was it. My friends were so disappointed. They were like, 'You met someone already? I was expecting at least a year of hilarity'." But Esther and her blind date found that they had so much in common from the moment they met. "We were exactly the same age. Our children were born at exactly the same time," she added. "There was just something about him, he made me laugh straight away."
© WireImageFrom there, things moved incredibly fast for the author and her new beau: "We talked and talked and I thought, 'This is just the kind of person I'd like to be with', and luckily, he thought the same. He started talking about how he'd just been to see a flat, and I thought, 'Oh, don't bother with that, you can just come and live with me'. I don't think I'd finished my first drink."
Esther and David's blended family is different from how she 'imagined'
When the 62-year-old separated from her husband, their children were "already quite grown", she explains; "Our youngest was 13 or so, and the other two in their late teens, early twenties. So, co-parenting, in a way, was easier for us. I think I dreaded being without my children, and I don't know if I could have done it earlier."
© Getty ImagesNow, for the last few years, they've had an arrangement for their blended family when it comes to managing special occasions. "We have Christmas together," she told Ateh, "and we celebrate three children's birthdays, and now we have a grandchild, so there's even more opportunities to be a family."
However, her dynamic with David isn't quite as Esther expected it to be: "I actually imagined that we would be more friendly, because we've always been great friends," she said. "We'd meet up, we'd talk about things and chat, but actually we just tend to stick to those family gatherings and save up the chat about what film we saw or what book we read for Christmas."
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