Cathy Kelly is ushering in a new era after her 'very stressful' divorce was finalised in recent weeks.
The renowned Irish author, 58, split from her husband of 12 years, former head of Sony Records Ireland John Sheehan in September 2020 and they have both since moved on in new relationships.
However, she can only now consider it a 'clean break' and move on with her life as her divorce was only recently finalised after a court hearing.
Speaking about the divorce process, she told the Irish Independent: 'Going into court is incredibly difficult. Affidavits are a nightmare. And it could be quite chaotic having to get all those pieces of paper together because... you know... I have my own business and I own my own home… so you know it is a marvellous clean break.
'I'm in a new relationship and my ex-husband is now in a relationship which I'm delirious about and that's the way it should be... if you can both move on with your lives.'
Cathy described being newly divorced as 'a wonderfully freeing thing' and celebrated the milestone by going on an exciting trip to Morocco with her new partner PJ Davis.
But it wasn't exactly the relaxing trip you'd expect after such a stressful time. Cathy revealed the couple went on a motorbike adventure through the Atlas mountains, with her riding on the back of PJ's bike!
The author found love again with PJ at the age of 55 after her marriage with John broke down. She met her new partner, who is Oxford-educated and specialises in linguistics, through their children as her twin sons were friends with his daughter.
A relationship soon began to blossom, with Cathy and PJ meeting for coffee and talking about books. Speaking about falling in love again, Cathy told EVOKE: 'Finding love a second time around is just such a beautiful gift and it's wonderful.'
As well as dealing with a divorce, Cathy was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2023 and has since undergone numerous rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatment - but is now in remission.
Thankfully her new partner PJ has supported her through those tough times since her diagnosis and she said he has been a huge support to her since being diagnosed and that he kept reassuring her everything was going to be OK when they first found out the terrible news.
