Ben Fogle and his wife Marina's two teenage children, son Ludovic, 15, and daughter Iona, 13, spend their weekdays away from home at boarding school.
Discussing her empty nest at their Henley home, Marina told The Times: "For the first time in nearly 15 years, I won't have any children at home during the week. My 13-year-old daughter has now joined her brother at a weekly boarding school."
The move may come as a surprise to Ben's fans, since the Into The Congo With Ben Fogle star, 51, previously opened up about his mixed feelings about his childhood at Bryanston in the 90s.
Ben admitted he was "homesick" the first year he went to boarding school, and went on to state he "can’t bear the thought" of his kids spending their nights away from home.
© InstagramIn an unearthed interview with Absolutely Education, he was asked about the potential of his and Marina's kids following in their footsteps, since they both boarded.
Ben clarified he wasn't "anti-boarding" and would prioritise his children's education, but felt his kids were still so young. "Not for the sake of boarding per se, but if the right school for one of my children is too far away – and there aren’t many great schools in central London if your children aren’t highly academic – then I might consider it.
© Instagram"I’m not anti-boarding in any way – I think there is a great place for it still. My wife and her sisters have an interesting take on the issue of boarding; they think they had a much better teen relationship with their mother, as they could take out their teen angst on their housemistress, so relations were better at home.
"My children are seven and nine years old. I can’t bear the thought of them going to boarding school right now; I am definitely against sending them before they are 13, I want them at home with me."
Home life
© InstagramWith Ben and Marina now enjoying quieter weekdays at their Oxfordshire family home, they have more time to focus on any changes they want to make.
The presenter's home features 1.3 acres of land, a tennis court, a swimming pool and a pond, while The Sun also reported that Ben submitted planning permission to create a podcast and yoga studio.
As well as plans to change the home's exterior features, Ben admitted he loves to constantly switch up the interior by hanging different paintings, but joked that the resulting nails "exasperate" his wife.
The Animal Park star told House Beautiful: "I don't believe that you should decorate your house and leave the furniture and paintings in the same place permanently. Some people love that continuity. I love shifting furniture and the thing I do the most is changing paintings around."
