In a new interview for HELLO! magazine, Martine McCutcheon tells how she has been keeping positive during the recent lockdown with her husband Jack McManus and their five-year-old son Rafferty at home in Surrey. The actress, singer and TV presenter has been open in the past about struggling with depression, Lyme disease and ME (chronic fatigue syndrome) and has had to take extra care.
WATCH: Martine McCutcheon records a special song at home
"If you have any underlying illness you can't take risks. As with any chronic condition you can have flare-ups. When I go outside I always have my mask and my gloves and take it very seriously," Martine tells HELLO!.
© Photo: HELLO!Martine has been living in lockdown in her Surrey home
However, Martine reveals: "I have been really good emotionally for a long time and I have felt a lot calmer. It has been good to realise it is okay to do things at your own pace. Life is so fast that there never seems to be time. Now there is this new togetherness, even with social distancing."
MORE: Inside Prince Harry and Meghan's LA home
© Photo: HELLO!She shares son Rafferty with husband Jack
"People have become a lot kinder than they have been for a long time," she says. "I think we have become a little bit of a spoilt generation. We had the world literally at the touch of our fingertips. Now we have learnt that we need to be grateful for small things, to check in with people and to slow down."
MORE: The ultimate banana bread recipes: vegan, boozy, nutty and more
For now, she is enjoying being in their music studio in an outbuilding in their garden, where the family have been delighting her followers with impromptu singalongs. They have also been working on new songs for Martine who had a No. 1 with Perfect Moment.
She also tells HELLO! of her joy at being a mum, saying, "I am really happy with my lot. I always said if I am blessed with a child I will be so grateful. Rafferty takes some topping – he is an amazing kid. We are like the Three Musketeers."
Read the full interview in HELLO! magazine out on Monday.
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
