Jodie Kidd is counting down the days until she can reopen her rural pub garden as lockdown slowly lifts in England, she tells HELLO! in an exclusive interview.
"I can't wait to see all our regulars' faces," says the former model and racing driver of the Half Moon pub in Kirdford, West Sussex. "The sooner we can open the doors and welcome them back, that will be a wonderful day.
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"It's so important to have that social element, especially for mental health," she adds. Jodie, 42, who has a nine-year-old son Indio from her relationship with polo player Andrea Vianini, also tells of her fears for the future of her struggling industry.
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The former model wears a Camilla dress, boots by Fairfax and Favor, and an Alice Van Cal bracelet
"We're losing five pubs a day. They're closing their doors for good," says Jodie, who had to furlough her staff during lockdown, including three chefs. "It's a scary plight for landladies and landlords. It's extremely tough."
She loves her rural life and being able to cuddle her "fat and happy" horses – now retired – go rambling with her two dogs and throw open the windows of her cottage to "hear the birds sing and look out across the fields, or go out and kick a ball with Indy".
© Photo: HELLO!Jodie wears a dress and cape by Temperley London and boots by Fairfax and Favor
Spending time in lockdown with her son has been "one of the highlights of 2020" and also brought her closer to her partner, former marine and special forces soldier Joseph Bates.
"When you've had to spend a lot of time with your loved one, you have time to deal with things and talk. It's been a good time to really get to know someone," she says.
Describing herself as, "very comfortable in my own skin, finally" she also reveals that she no longer suffers from the anxiety and panic attacks which plagued her as a teenage model.
"Being away from home and alone in hotel rooms – it became overwhelming," she says. "I just wanted to be normal like my friends, but instead I was 16 years old in this really adult industry."
Photographs by Sam Pelly.
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