Gardeners' World Adam Frost's life - wife's health scare and move to end 'chaos'

15 December 2023 , 19:00

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Adam Frost co-presents BBC's Gardeners' World with Monty Don (Image: BBC/Glenn Dearing/Geffrye Museum)

Gardeners' World star Adam Frost has opened up about his family's worrying recent health issues.

Adam has become a firm favourite on the popular BBC show and is loved by fans for his gardening skills and award-winning work on the Chelsea Flower Show. The 53-year-old TV presenter has loved the outdoors since he was a child and would spend a lot of time with his grandparents in their greenhouse.

Now, the British garden designer shares his passion for horticulture with his wife Sulina and their four children, Abi-Jade, Jacob, Amber-Lily and Oakley. The couple has been through a lot in their personal life, including a terrifying health scare and a big house move after assessing their lifestyle in lockdown. Here we take a look at Adam's life off-screen.

Adam and wife Sulina share four children and they recently downsized their family home (adamfrostdesign/Instagram)

Sulina battled sepsis and their daughter was diagnosed with an eating disorder in 2022 (adamfrostdesign/Instagram)

Adam, who regularly co-hosts with Monty Don, went through a tough time during the pandemic. In an interview with The Times in 2022, he spoke about his experience with Covid, which led to the discovery that he was struggling mentally. He told the publication: "I was sat in front of a psychiatrist and a doctor and said, 'You know, I've got burn-out and depression,' which was a surprise as I only went into the room with Covid. The wheels came off a little bit."

While Adam was suffering with Covid, his wife Sulina was ill in hospital, where she developed sepsis. And then, his 15-year-old daughter was diagnosed with an eating disorder. "Her mum was in hospital and she ended up really poorly. She ended up with an eating disorder, like a lot of 15-year-olds, she had friends going through it at school. So that took its toll," he explained.

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

Their health issues became a "stark reminder that there are other things in life", Adam said, and the family decided to downsize and move houses. Adam previously lived in a beautiful 18th-century farmhouse in Lincolnshire, with five bedrooms and nearly three acres of land. But they realised "it was great when everybody was well", and not so much when there was 'chaos'.

So, they opted for a change of scenery in 2022. Adam confirmed he had relocated on Gardeners' World when he said: "Like so many of us over the last couple of years, I had time to just stop and think. Probably, in reality for the first time since I was about 16 years old - and realised that my life is slightly chaotic. So as a family, we've just decided to scale back, so I can spend more time with them - but it does mean I've got a smaller garden."

• Gardeners' World Winter Specials airs on BBC Two at 8pm tonight.

Nia Dalton