Fern Britton's heartbreak over 'naughty' first love before two failed marriages

14 March 2024 , 05:31

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Fern Britton on Good Morning Britain (Image: (Image: ITV))

Famed TV star Fern Britton, who appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, has had two marriages, but before all this, her first love left her heartbroken.

The previous host of This Morning shared her painful experience while talking about her days at Central School of Speech and Drama where she studied stage management. Speaking on Kate Thornton's White Wine Question Time podcast, Fern recollected: "I had a boyfriend I fell very much in love with, and he was the first person to tell me that he loved me, no one else had ever mentioned that before.

"He said, 'I love you', and I went, 'Oh! ' It blew me away, absolutely." She continued, "I was 17 or 18 and in love with this guy, naughty Nick, who knows jolly well. His daughters even say to him nowadays that he is a heartbreaker, which he was."

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Fern Britton opened up about her failed romance with her first love. ((Image: Getty))

Fern Britton and Phil Vickery were married from 2000 until 2020. ((Image: Getty))

"It was absolutely a door into a different set of feelings, it was very good, although of course there was the heartbreak and all that because you are young.", reports the Express. After parting ways with "naughty Nick" Fern eventually got married to TV executive Clive Jones in 1988, becoming parents to twins Jack and Harry, 29, and Grace, 26.

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They remained married for more than two decades until their divorce in 2000. In that same year, Fern tied the knot with chef Phil Vickery whom she met filming BBC Two's Ready Steady Cook, and they had a daughter named Winnie in 2001.

In 2020, Phil and Fern revealed their surprising split. They said the decision was "amicable" and they were going to "continue to be friends". Fern shared on X, formerly Twitter : "After more than 20 happy years together, Phil and I have decided to go our separate ways.

"We will always share a great friendship and our lovely children. We would appreciate it if our privacy is respected at this time. Thank you for your continued kindness and support."

Soon after sharing the news, Fern admitted her marriage started to "fall apart" after a sad event in her family. She lost both of her parents within a few months of each other. Her dad Tony passed away in December 2019 and her mum Ruth passed away in April 2018.

Appearing on Good Morning Britain in 2020, she explained: "My mum died and my father died and unfortunately Phil and I fell apart... then lockdown happened and it was like three months of, I needed that rest." Now, Fern is part of ITV's first run of Celebrity Big Brother, which is on air from Sunday to Friday at 9pm.

Leah Stanfield