Claudia Winkleman has opened up on the heartbreak of being separated from her children.
The Strictly Come Dancing host shares three children with her husband Kris Thykier – Jake, 17, Matilda, 14, and Arthur, 10.
While Claudia usually remains pretty private about family life, she did discuss her kids on a recent podcast.
Claudia Winkleman discusses family life
Claudia, 50, spoke to Lorraine Candy and Trish Halpin on the Postcards From Midlife Podcast, which was released earlier this week.
On the podcast, Lorraine asked: “You’ve spoken about having to learn to separate from [your children] and this is the big separating time, when they go to university.”
Claudia responded: “I handle it very badly. One is at university and I felt heartbroken.
I feel heartbroken.
“But it’s not fair on him for me to just keep him here with me all the time, just having three meals a day and me looking in his eyes and going: ‘I’m not being funny but if you love that Rolling Stones album would you consider listening to this Led Zeppelin song.’
“He doesn’t want to do that. He wants to be with his friends.
“Roots and wings and all that, you have to give them both.”
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The Strictly star added: “I remember my mum dropping me off at university and she could not stop crying.
“I said to myself, I won’t do that and I’ll be brave. Of course, I fell apart because they’re my life.”
It isn’t the first that Claudia has discussed her son Jake leaving for university.
What has Claudia previously said about her kids?
In a previous interview, she admitted that she once threatened to leave Strictly over the prospect of the show clashing with Jake’s big day.
She told the BBC’s Women’s Hour podcast: “I phoned the boss of Strictly quite dramatically and said, through tears: ‘Sarah I love you. I don’t want to leave Strictly and Tess and I have agreed we will leave together when they’re done with us. But if the first show is September 13, I’m out and you’ll have to go with somebody else’.”
Thankfully, the programme was due to start the week after.
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