At 63, celebrity chef Andi Oliver has achieved a level of success and happiness that at one point she thought impossible.
A single mum in her twenties, the former singer suffered a breakdown after the sudden death of her brother Sean aged 27 and developed a serious eating disorder.
Being a young mother to her daughter TV presenter Miquita, Andi says ‘saved my life’, as she gave her a reason to seek help and have life-changing therapy.
“When my brother died, it broke me. It was the toughest time of my life,” Great British Menu host Andi, 63, tells Ateh Jewel on this week’s HELLO! Second Act podcast.
“I was on quite a self-destructive path. If I hadn't had Miquita, I don't know if I would really have got better. Being a mother drove me, grounded me and directed me and still does.”
Throughout all of her ups and downs one person has remained at her side - her best friend of 40 years Neneh Cherry.
“She’s the greatest love affair of my life,” says Andi, who has been in a relationship with Garfield Hackett for over 30 years. “We brought each other up before we brought our own kids up. And we continue to help each other to survive to this day.”
The power of sisterhood is something she has passed on to her daughter Miquita, 42. She supported her own best friend Lily Allen as she faced her public split from Stranger Things actor David Harbour after she discovered he had been cheating, inspiring her 2025 hit album West End Girl.
The pair, who hosted their own BBC Sounds podcast Miss Me?, were introduced as babies, as Andi was friends with Lily’s film director mum, Alison Owen. Over the years Andi became a surrogate mum to the singer and says she’s thrilled Lily has now found love again with artist Jonah Freud after her recent heartbreak.
“I was really worried about her. But she's come through with flying colors. And she's in love again, and having a great time. So that's a beautiful thing to see.”
Family and human connection is at the root of everything Andi does in life and her career, bringing people together with her cooking. So a recent trip to Malawi with WaterAid to see how they are helping provide communities with water had a profound impact on her. “I think the older you get, the more you understand that human connection is powerful.
“I met a woman with this powerful vision for her life and the next generation of women and girls coming up through those communities. The human capacity for resilience is quite extraordinary, being in Malawi really showed me that.”
Andi celebrated her 60th birthday in 2023 with a three day event that she said was like a wedding - “Birthdays are fabulous because I am alive - I’m always amazed I’ve survived another one.”
But she has no desire to marry her boyfriend of over 30 years Garfield Hackett, despite his repeated proposals.
“I don’t feel like I need to. It's about celebrating each other, your love and the family you've created together and all of that stuff, but we do that all the time.”
Listen to the Second Act podcast, now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts and Youtube.
