Joanna Page's marriage struggle that saw her almost divorce and new career

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Joanna Page
Joanna Page's marriage struggle that saw her almost divorce and new career

Joanna Page is one of the country's most recognisable faces after she shot to fame starring as Stacey Shipman in Gavin and Stacey, following her iconic cameo in Love Actually in 2003. Away from the cameras, the Welsh actress is a mum of four and welcomed her youngest addition unexpectedly in 2021 at the age of 44.

The 46-year-old star is married to husband, actor James Thornton, and they share Eva, nine, Kit, seven, Noah, six, and one-year-old Boe. Over the years, Joanna has spoken candidly about her personal life at home, from admitting lockdown killed her sex life to sharing her 'impulsive' surgery to prevent pregnancy.

Joanna Page's marriage struggle that saw her almost divorce and new career qhiqqxidziqzhinvJoanna Page admits she spent most of lockdown threatening to divorce her husband (Rex)
Joanna Page's marriage struggle that saw her almost divorce and new careerThe Gavin and Stacey star was surprised to discover she was pregnant in the middle of 2021

Before becoming a mum for the fourth time, Joanna couldn't help joking she almost divorced her husband after lockdown killed their sex life. She admitted she and James spent so much time with their children when schools were closed that they couldn't make time for each other. Being unable to have sex took a toll on their relationship, with the couple arguing, threatening to split, and giving each other the silent treatment, Joanna confessed in 2020.

"We spent the whole of the first lockdown arguing and threatening to divorce each other," she recalled. "Then we went through a month of literally not saying a single word to each other." Joanna went on to reveal she and James were used to cramming in sex sessions before it was time to pick their kids up from school. She continued to tell The Sun how being surrounded by their children put a dampener on their love life. Though, when schools reopened, they went on to have their fourth child, Boe Willow.

Earlier this year, Joanna appeared on Loose Women and spoke about her 'impulsive' decision to have her fallopian tubes cut in her mid-forties. She admitted that she is 'still broody' and once considered getting the surgery reversed. "Of course I'm feeling broody. After having Boe, I did have my fallopian tubes cut, I didn't really think about it a lot," she said. "I knew, inside, I'm 46 I couldn't go through another pregnancy, I'd be utterly exhausted and I also want to give enough time to my children."

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Joanna Page's marriage struggle that saw her almost divorce and new careerJames and Joanna's sex life took a hit during the Covid-19 pandemic (Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)
Joanna Page's marriage struggle that saw her almost divorce and new careerThe happy couple welcomed their youngest into the world at the end of 2021

She continued: "But not that long ago, I went on the internet, I looked up: 'Can you have your tubes put back together?' You can. One-in-200 women can maybe get pregnant after doing that. I told James, he just looked at me and went: 'You what? What on earth are you going on about?' so I will not be having anymore. I've got my beautiful four children." The NHS says female sterilisation is an operation to permanently prevent pregnancy and cannot be easily reversed.

With four young children, it's understandable Joanna has made changes to her career over the years. Chatting with the Mirror previously, the mum-of-four admitted she has cut back on acting roles in favour of presenting jobs, with the change allowing her to spend more time with her kids. "I really enjoy presenting and it works a lot better with a family as you don't have to go away for weeks on end," the star explained.

"For the first six months after I had Eva I was away working filming two shows back to back," she said. "I had my mum looking after her on set but it was so tough as all I wanted to do was spend time with my new baby. Also, I just find presenting a lot more interesting. You're always doing something different and I love just being myself and chatting to people. It can be a lot more fun than sitting alone in a trailer for hours learning lines, then going out to do a scene where you're pretending to be ­somebody else."

Zoe Delaney

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