Fearne Cotton reveals big ‘stress’ after divorce from Jesse Woods

Fearne Cotton has revealed she feels “stress” to make money as a single working mum following her divorce from husband Jesse Woods. The star split with the musician, with whom she shares two children, in 2024 after ten years of marriage.

Fearne, 44, opened up about the pressure to stay “financially on track” in a conversation on her Happy Place podcast, released on Tuesday, with fellow broadcaster Ruth Langsford. She revealed “I’m on my own” after parting ways with Jesse, 49, who is father to her son Rex, 12, and daughter Honey, nine.

The mother-of-two – who is believed to be dating film director Elliot Hegarty – said: “That’s the thing I have to wrestle with… and I even made the decision last week where I said yes to something that I really want to do and also, you know, it’s important that I’m financially on track, and I’m on my own, and, you know, doing it properly.

“But you know, my kids are actually at an age where I can talk to them, and I’m like, ‘Look, I’m going to take this job and I’m not going to be around quite as much in June and July,’ and they were like, ‘Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, we get it, it’s all good,’ and we had that conversation that took a bit of stress away.

“But even after this podcast, I’ve got three podcasts today, and I’m going to kill myself getting home as quickly as I can, to then race to my mate Ella’s house, who picked up the kids for me, and give them dinner, to then come back and try and make up for me not being there – and we are all pushing ourselves.”

Her guest Ruth, 66, responded by reassuring her that her children would understand. She said: “I’m sure if I sat down with your children right now and asked them, ‘Look, does it affect you badly that mum works? Do you worry? Do you think, where is she?’ They would just say no.”

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Ruth – who has a son Jack, 23, and split with ex-husband Eamonn Holmes also in 2024 – added: “They’d be fine, because they know that you love them, they have a loving family. I actually think it’s really good for your children to see you work.”

Announcing her split from Jesse – who is the son of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood – at the time, Fearne said: “It is with a heavy heart that I let you all know that Jesse and I are ending our marriage. Our priority has been and always will be our children.”