Iwas touring with my sisters when I was 16. It was probably the height of our career.Touring the world; Japan, Russia, Australia, everywhere. It was a very full-on time. But I’d been performing with my family since I was two so it wasn’t an unusual way of life for me. And I was with my family so it felt very safe. I was – I am – a real homebody and I spent a lot of time just wishing I was back home. I probably appreciate that time now more than I did when I was going through it. I look back now and think wow, that was actually an amazing time in my life.
The hits started drying up in my mid-20s. We were still working but we weren’t really touring any more. We were doing summer seasons and clubs. And then I met Shane [Richie] and had my two boys and suddenly I thought, I’m not enjoying this any more. We were going on stage at half-one in the morning to people who were pissed. And I thought, I’ve left my kids at home to do this? People see the glamour of that kind of life, but they don’t see that it’s really, really hard work. You struggle to have any kind of normality. I didn’t want to drag my own kids around, I wanted them to have the childhood I’d never had.
When I found out Shane had been unfaithful, I thought it was a blip and we’d have counselling and everything would be fine. If I could go back I’d leave straight after the second affair. I stayed two years too long. But I was massively in love with him. To me, there was nothing missing in our relationship. He’s said that too, he said he doesn’t really understand what happened. Well, he does… he wanted to have his cake and eat it. I loved him but in the end I thought, I’m not one of those women who keeps turning a blind eye. I don’t deserve to be treated like this. And I don’t think this is a great way to bring up my children, thinking that this stuff is OK. In the end, I think we’ve done OK. We stayed really good friends and we still are.
My sisters still find it hilarious that I do a chat show every day when I wouldn’t say boo to a goose when we were younger. It wasn’t a planned career move. I went on to a talk show to talk about my break up with Shane, and it eventually became a regular job. And I loved it. I realised I did have a voice and things to say, I’d just never had a chance in that massive family. It was the first time in my life I felt truly independent, my own person.
I grew up just worshipping The Osmonds. If you’d told the 16-year-old me I’d end up meeting them so many times they became friends…wow. We chat away about how similar our lives were, touring with our families. But every now and again in the middle of the conversation I suddenly think, my God, this is The Osmonds, I used to cry over them! I’m always starstruck by famous people. If I’m on a red carpet I’m always looking around saying, “Oh my God, look who it is!”
- US president Ronald Reagan is shot and wounded
- The Social Democratic Party (SDP) is founded in the UK
- Postman Pat is first aired on BBC1
