Jane McDonald has revealed she was compelled to part with her cherished Wakefield residence after two decades of calling it home.
The 62-year-old singer and television presenter made the emotional decision to let go of Cleevethorpe House, a five-bedroom detached property valued at £1million that she had painstakingly renovated over the years.
The Yorkshire-born star, known for her appearances on Loose Women and Channel 4’s Celebrity Gogglebox, explained that the house had become unbearable following devastating personal losses.
“I found it difficult. There was too much history there,” she told the Daily Mail.
Jane McDonald explained how grief led her to sell her home
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Within just three years, Ms McDonald endured the deaths of both her mother Jean and her fiancé Eddie Rothe, making the property an agonising reminder of her grief.
Jean McDonald passed away just days before Christmas in 2018, a loss that the star described as a “light in her heart” being extinguished.
Tragedy would strike the presenter once more when Mr Rothe succumbed to lung cancer in March 2021 at the age of 67.
The couple’s love story had begun decades earlier when McDonald was just 17 years old during the 1980s.
Jane Mcdonald’s fiancé Eddie Rothe died in May 2021
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After years apart, they rekindled their romance in 2008, with Mr Rothe proposing later that same year.
The bungalow served as a constant and painful reminder of everything Ms McDonald had lost, ultimately forcing her hand in the decision to sell.
She has since acknowledged that letting go of the property was essential for her emotional wellbeing and ability to move forward.
The singer has now downsized to a more modest property in the same area whilst also acquiring a seaside bolthole where she spends a significant amount of her time.
Jane McDonald has been candid about the impact of her grief
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“We all need peace in our lives and I’ve got that now,” she shared.
The star currently shares an unconventional living arrangement with her longtime friend Sue Ravey, whom she first met when both were working as singers in their twenties.
Following Mr Rothe’s death, Ms Ravey moved into the Wakefield bungalow to support her friend, and the pair have remained inseparable ever since.
“She’s still my bezzie mate, we’re going to be on the coast together in January. We still do everything together. It works brilliantly,” Ms McDonald said.
The process of vacating the property proved monumental, with Ms McDonald filling seven skips whilst sorting through twenty years of accumulated possessions.
“You’d be surprised at how much stuff you have. Seven skips later! I was ashamed of myself,” she stated.
Ms McDonald continued: “You’ve got to let it all go. But Sue is great. She’ll ask me: ‘Why you holding onto this?’ Take a picture of it and bin it.”
The property had traditionally been the venue for family Christmas celebrations, though this year Ms McDonald spent the festive season with friends instead.
“Times change and you have to change with it. I’m now making new traditions,” she reflected.