When A Place In The Sun host Laura Hamilton gave birth to her son, the first thing she did was call her family…and the passport office.
“The midwives thought I was nuts,” she tells Ateh Jewel on this week’s HELLO! Second Act podcast. “But I went back to work when they were three weeks old and they traveled with me pretty much full time until they started school.”
Laura’s son Rocco, who is now 12 years old, and his sister Thalia, 11, have been lucky enough to watch their mum present all over the world.
But the backlash Laura received over her decision to bring her children along for the ride shocked her. “People would go, ‘oh it would be nice if she spent more time with her kids.’ “We should never be judged for the choices that we make. We just do what we think is right for us. That doesn't mean it's the right way, doesn't mean it's the wrong way.
“I might be a Rocco and Tahlia’s mum, but I'm still Laura. I was somebody before I had them, and and I didn't want to lose that.”
The cruel comments on social media, were enough to convince her to keep her private life just that when she met her current partner following a divorce to the father of her children in 2022.
“We had a public relationship, even though he wasn't a public guy. I took the conscious decision that when my relationship ended, going forward, I would never talk about future relationships.
“I am seeing somebody,” she reveals, “but I'm very mindful and respectful.”
Navigating her second act as a single parent hasn’t always been easy, but Laura has done her utmost to focus on the positives in the situation.
“After I got divorced I don't say ‘that chapter is closed’. I just say, well, that's that chapter.
And actually we're moving forward to the next part of my story. We are just continually moving forward.
“We have children, we are part of each others lives forever. And ultimately with co-parenting, I think you can never, ever forget it's the children that are the most important. They are at the core of everything I do.”
Her ability to move forwards in life, is reflected in the amount of house moves Laura has had - 22 and counting with current homes in Mallorca, Dubai and Surrey. Her renovating hobby started when she was 19, and inspired her own YouTube channel, Property With Laura Hamilton. “I never really become emotionally attached - It’s bricks and mortar.”
Her advice for other women who may feel stuck in a situation - housewise or other - that isn’t working for them is ‘don’t be afraid to make a change…no matter what age you are.’
“Any age that you question your happiness, think how do you feel up here?(taps head) Be bold and brave at any age don't compare yourself to others.”
Listen to the Second Act podcast, now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts and Youtube.
