Nigella Lawson became the focus of intense media and public attention following the breakdown of her ten-year marriage to Charles Saatchi in 2013. In an interview with The Irish Times in 2019, the celebrity food writer opened up about the "trauma" she went through as the split played out.
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"It was generally about feeling exposed and under attack," she shared. "In a way, it would have been much better for me to be able to speak openly."
© Photo: Getty ImagesNigella Lawson split from Charles Saatchi in 2013
She added: "It goes against my nature not to. But I do think that becoming a tabloid story, and everything I went through then, shame, various things, in a way gave me a form of trauma of its own. And I don't think I've addressed that enough to talk about it."
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The former couple dominated headlines when photographs were published of Charles with his hands on her throat during an argument outside Scott's restaurant in Mayfair in June 2013. A month later, they were granted a decree nisi, subsequently ending their ten-year marriage. Nigella went on to reveal that it was a "tough time" to go through.
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In 2014, during an appearance on Michael McIntyre's chat show, Nigella was asked how she was feeling now those events were behind her. "I have had better times," she admitted at the time. "It's spring and I am feeling better and I am very happy to be here. I have been alive longer than you, so I know life has its dips and it can get better and you can't fight it."
© Photo: Getty ImagesNigella is set to star in Simply Nigella
Breaking down in tears, she added: "I'm not particularly guarded and I say and do some things I may regret later. But I would rather embarrass myself and be a bit idiotic sometimes than spend my whole life worrying about what people think."
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