Sue Radford, star of 22 Kids and Counting, has opened up about the time she and husband Noel feared they could be at risk of losing their home.
As any fan of their Channel 5 series will know, the Radfords and their huge brood have lived in a 10-bedroom former care home in Morecambe, Lancashire.
It was recently reported the family have had plans to move into a country farmhouse after over-enthusiastic fans invaded their privacy.
“People turning up at the house has definitely become a regular occurrence. They’ll start taking pictures. Then the front gate will open and they’ll start walking up the footpath,” Sue explained. “And that is where we draw the line.”
It is believed the Radfords moved into the Victorian house made famous on their TV show around 2004.
But before then, it seems where they lived was on the line after they were hit hard by a change in the local economy.
22 Kids and Counting star Sue Radford on ‘fears about losing family home’
Speaking to OK! magazine, Sue reflected on how the Radfords faced with “losing everything” in the early noughties.
She and Noel had expanded their successful bakery business into new premises. However, tourist trade fell through the floor during the foot and mouth disease outbreak, meaning their new venture failed.
We almost went bankrupt and thought we would lose the house.
“We almost went bankrupt and thought we would lose the house. I just kept thinking, ‘There’s no way out of this, and I really don’t see how our marriage can survive,'” Sue recalled.
Sue and Noel Radford marriage worries
TV star Sue went on: “The whole thing took its toll on me and Noel. Looking back now, I can see that we would never, ever have called it a day. But when you’re in that highly-pressurised moment it’s hard to see a way out. There were days when I’d think: ‘that’s it, I’m leaving the business and Noel, I just can’t do it anymore.’ But our marriage has always been strong – and having the kids kept us right.”
Sue added how through sticking together, the couple were able to pay off the debts – and vowed never to be in a similar situation again. She said: “It was sink or swim and we chose to swim. We paid off the debts and vowed we would never, ever be in that situation again.”
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Read more: Inside the Radfords’ ‘dream £40k’ holiday motorhome
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